Discrimination Bristol

Racial discrimination within a workplace can severely affect relationships between co-workers and create a bad reputation for the company concerned.

Legislation on racial discrimination states that employees, present or potential, must be judged on qualities that are strictly relevant to their job: skill, experience, education, and suitability to the position. No judgement may be based on race alone.

Sometimes the prejudices of employers can be unconscious: for example, an employer may have pre-conceived ideas about a particular ethnic group, but be unaware it is affecting judgement and treatment of employees.

All employers should use objective criteria when assessing and comparing prospective employees. This should also be applied to situations whereby a company already employs a multi-cultural workforce. Although it is important to be sensitive to cultural issues, employers should avoid becoming over-conscious of the race of an employee. You should simply consider each worker in relation to his or her strengths and weaknesses with respect to the job.

The following areas should be considered when looking to eliminate and avoid all forms of racial discrimination:

• Hiring and firing: when deciding whom to employ, and whether a staff contract should be continued, it is important to assess on criteria relating only to the employee's ability to carry out the job
• Pay: each employee should be rewarded on a basis of responsibility and effort; these factors are independent of the race of the employee
• Cultural and religious considerations: are you aware of the sometimes sensitive cultural taboos and religious festivals of members of your staff? A simple questionnaire, given to each member of staff, could quickly and subtly elicit this information
• Promotion: it is essential that, once in the employ of a company, each worker be assessed regularly by objective criteria relating to their abilities and skill in their position
• Use of facilities: once again, it is important to recognize that members of certain ethnic minorities may have specific requirements with reference to their beliefs or cultural practices. These factors should be considered and respected if the employees are to be accepted and valued, as long as these considerations do not place too large a strain upon the finances or time of the business