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Policy and practice

This topic contains all articles and case reports dealing with Equal Opportunities Policy and Practice. They are shown in reverse chronological order, with the most recently published being listed first.

You can further narrow down the articles or case reports you want to see by choosing one or more types of article, or case report, and/or selecting the date of publication, using the boxes on the right-hand side of your screen.

Showing results from 1 to 20 of 405

IT giant Microsoft is offering its legal firms a 2% bonus if they hit diversity targets. Firms can opt for one of two ways of measuring their progress on diversity.

The minefield of equal pay litigation has led to divided views on the way forward. Stefan Cross, who represents many thousands of the claimants in public sector equal pay claims, puts his views on the equal pay debate.

Well-connected sources now tell me that the date for publication of the Government’s response to the consultation on the Discrimination Law Review has been pushed back to “the spring”, ie anywhere from 21 March to 21 June. There has been no change yet in the plan to introduce the Single Equality Bill in November, but I understand that the response to the consultation, when it is eventually published, will now set out in fairly firm form what the Bill will look like.

Tackling multiple discrimination is becoming a key issue for the European Union. Recent research initiated by the European Commission shows that, although there is not yet a universal definition, there is an understanding of the concept amongst organisations in the EU.

This article is an expanded version of the sections relating to discrimination and equal opportunities issues of a lecture by Michael Rubenstein on 'Key employment and discrimination cases for 2008', given to the Industrial Law Society on 29 January 2008 in London, 5 February in Newcastle upon Tyne, 6 February in Leeds, and 7 February in Manchester.

Multiple and intersectional discrimination present an important challenge for equality law. Here, we look at the problems and consider possible solutions that could be adopted in a single Equality Act.

A minister in the Government's treasury department has revealed, in response to a written parliamentary question, that it no longer monitors the age of applicants for posts, because of the Age Regulations.

The Equality Commission has published its 17th annual monitoring report, which shows a 0.7 percentage point increase in the Catholic share of the monitored workforce in Northern Ireland, from 43% in 2005 to 43.7% in 2006.

The first decision in Northern Ireland under the age discrimination legislation illustrates the dangers of making assumptions about a person's abilities based on age.

The CBI is working with the TUC to promote good practice in implementing diversity in the workplace. A report will be published in 2008 featuring case study examples of how firms have improved equal opportunities and diversity at work.

Stonewall's latest workplace equality index has seen a dramatic rise in standards. The scores achieved in almost all sectors have increased, leading to the most competitive index yet published. In 2005, an organisation had to have a minimum score of 40% to make the top 100, this year it is 71%.

Developing competency in managing race and diversity in the workplace is one of Race for Opportunityís priorities for 2008.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) plans to be fully up and running by 1 April 2008. Its current work is that inherited from the legacy commissions or key work that needs to be done immediately. There has also been much work on preparing staff job descriptions and mapping of responsibilities.

The prospect of equality and diversity practitioners having to meet specified competencies and gain accredited qualifications has moved a step closer, with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) recommending the establishment of a new association to set professional standards.

Trained and knowledgeable equality reps are providing specialist support and advice on a wide range of diversity issues. We examine some of the first union/employer initiatives.

Two trade unions have spearheaded a project that demonstrates how the disability equality duty can be successfully implemented when unions and management work together to involve disabled people.

The government is planning to publish its response to the submissions it received in respect of the Discrimination Law Review. The target date for publication is the end of January, although these targets do have a habit of slipping. The Government’s response will be a signpost to the shape the Single Equality Bill will take, indicating where there has been movement from the original proposals. As mentioned previously in this column, the current plan is for a Bill to be introduced early in the 2008/09 session of Parliament.

The disability equality duty has had a positive impact on the performance and culture of public sector organisations, according to in-depth research carried out by the Disability Rights Commission.

The Comprehensive Spending Review public service agreements (PSAs) have been published, setting out the key priority outcomes the government wants to achieve in the next spending period (2008-11).

The appointment of an evangelical Christian with controversial views on homosexuality to the role of commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission has led to protests from both the gay community and secular groups.