TUC Welcomes Equality Bill

Responding to the Equality Bill published this week by Equality Minister Harriet Harman, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said,

“We welcome the Minister’s courage in defying the business lobbyists who say that equality doesn’t matter in a recession by publishing this Bill.

‘Bringing together the dozens of acts accumulated over the last 40 years into a single Equality Act will make it easier for individuals and employers to understand the law.

“But this Bill is more than just a cleaning up exercise. It strengthens the law and gives important new protections to disabled people and their carers, as well as extending rights for older people.

“The new duty to promote equality will encourage the public sector to continue to lead the way in tackling inequalities in the provision of public services.

“We are disappointed that the Government has fallen short of taking bolder steps to close the pay gap, particularly in the private sector where it stands at over 20 per cent.

“However, we welcome the Government’s decision to work with the TUC, Equalities and Human Rights Commission and the CBI to work out more effective ways of identifying how best private sector companies can report on any pay gaps.”

Light A Virtual Candle In Support Of Holocaust Memorial Day

Tuesday 27th January is Holocaust Memorial Day, the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is the international day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust and of other genocides. The aim is to commemorate victims, honour survivors and commit to tackling prejudice, discrimination and racism in the present day.

The theme of this year’s day is Stand Up to Hatred. It urges all of us to look at our behaviour to others; to understand how hate is directed against different minorities in Britain today; and to explore how each of us can help make our communities stronger and safer.

One way people are being asked to show support is to light up a virtual candle at the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website. The Trust also provides a range of free resources that can be used by schools and colleges. A leaflet (pdf) about the Holocaust Memorial Day can be downloaded here.

More Hostility Towards Disabled and Long Term Sick

Disabled people and those with long term ill-health are facing higher levels of hostile and negative treatment in the workplace according to new research published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

In a survey of nearly 4000 workers, the British Workplace Behaviour Survey 2008, conducted by Cardiff University and the University of Glamorgan, found employees with a disability or long-term illness reported they were more likely to have negative experiences at work. These experiences range from low expectations of workers, bullying and humiliation to, in some cases, physical violence. Findings included:

• 25% of people with a disability or long-term illness said someone was continually checking up on them and their work when it was not necessary compared to 19.4% of people without a disability or long-term illness.
• 22.5% of people with a disability or long-term illness said they had been the subject to persistent unfair  criticism of their work and performance compared to 13.4% of people without a disability or long-term illness.
• 13.4% of people with a disability or long-term illness said they had been humiliated or ridiculed in connection with their work compared to 8.7% for people without a disability or long-term

Ahead of the upcoming Equality Bill, the Commission will ask whether existing equality laws provide clear enough protection to disabled individuals at risk of bullying and harassment at work, for example, in relation to ill-treatment by clients or customers.

As the Government moves to introduce welfare reforms designed to enable more disabled people to enter work, the Commission hopes the issues raised in today’s report will be addressed.

Nicola Brewer, Chief Executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: “In these difficult economic times we must do all we can to help as many people as possible to stay in work. If disabled people and those with long-term ill health are more likely to experience hostile and negative treatment at work, we risk losing both their talent and their economic contribution.

“Disabled people and those with long term ill-health should be supported to get into, or back into, work, but they’ll only stay in work if they are treated with dignity and respect.”

A copy of the research report can be downloaded from the EHRC website.

Boost For Disability Equality in Colleges

An initiative designed to promote equality for disabled people in post-compulsory education was kick-started yesterday with its first official pledge from a further education college.

The Disability Equality Commitment, facilitated by Lifelong Learning UK, is a framework to help organisations in further education recruit, retain, and train disabled employees so that they are equally represented in the sector. Liverpool Community College became the first institution to sign up and commit to disability equality in this way.

Maureen Mellor MBE, Principal of Liverpool Community College, signed the pledge at this week’s Association of Colleges conference, in the company of Paul Mackney, the Chair of the Disability Equality Implementation Group which launched the initiative. The College has a proven record in striving for equality and diversity. 15 per cent of its learners class themselves as having a disability, alongside seven per cent of staff.

Maureen Mellor, said: “Liverpool Community College has a distinct action plan on disability equality – we have a disability staff group; we have undertaken a major training project with 1,000 staff taking part in sessions on equality awareness; and each year we hold a diversity event to celebrate and raise awareness of the different talents, skills and needs of our learners and staff.

“We are delighted to be the first further education college to sign up to the Disability Equality Commitment. We recognise our duty to all our staff and learners and strive to provide the best service for them. In turn we hope that individuals benefit from the opportunities that are created”.

Disabled people make up one fifth of the UK’s working age population, but face significant
disadvantages in the world of work. They are 50 per cent less likely to have a degree than nondisabled people, and twice as likely to have no qualifications at all. They are also 25 per cent less likely to be employed than the population as a whole.* The Disability Equality Commitment aims to positively address those inequalities in further education.

Paul Mackney, Chair of the Disability Equality Implementation Group, said “Our learners deserve to engage with the very best staff, irrespective of their age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief or sexual orientation. We know from Lifelong Learning UK’s Annual Workforce Diversity Profile that the level of staff disclosure about disability has fallen this year, which is why it’s more important than ever that colleges and other lifelong learning providers demonstrate a commitment to promoting disability equality. We’re delighted that Liverpool Community College is forging the way by signing up to the Disability Equality Commitment in Lifelong Learning, and, for the sake of all learners and staff, we would encourage others to do the same.”

New TUC Guide on Sickness and Disability

The TUC has published a guide aimed at trade union negotiators on sickness absence and disability discrimination. The guide, which looks at the law and good practice, was produced in response to the failure of some employers to distinguish between disability related absence and sickness. It can be downloaded in PDF format from the TUC website.

Women Will Have to Wait 187 Years For Pay Equality

Women across the UK will have to wait 187 years before their take home pay outpaces men, according to data from a survey of 40,027 individuals.  Figures also reveal the latest movements in earnings and show a higher rate of female labour turnover, as more women are made redundant, resign or seek job transfers.

The findings, released today by the Chartered Management Institute and CELRE, indicate that female earnings have increased by an average of 6.8 per cent over the past 12 months, up from 5.2 per cent reported in last year’s survey.  With men receiving an average increase of 6.6 per cent, the data signals a return to the trend set between 1997 and 2006, when female movements in earnings were higher.

In real terms the average female managers and executives is earning £32,614 – take home pay that is £13,655 less than the average male equivalent of £46,269.  At the current level of annual pay increases, this means it will not be until 2195 before female pay outstrips men.  The data also shows that female directors have the longest wait.  Parity for those in the IT sector will take even longer and, across all industries, female directors in Scotland will have the longest wait for parity.

Jo Causon, director, marketing and corporate affairs at the Chartered Management Institute, says: “At least with a glass ceiling it is possible to see through to the next level.  However, when it comes to equal pay, it seems that the glass is now opaque.  To have to wait several generations is inexcusable and it is time that the lip service of the 3 decades since sex discrimination was first outlawed is transformed into action.”

Changes in Disability Law Affecting Exams

The Workplace Law Network has reported on minor changes to disability discrimination legislation affecting people who take exams.

The Disability Discrimination (General Qualifications Bodies)(Relevant Qualifications, Reasonable Steps and Physical Features)(Amendment) Regulations 2008 are to be brought in on 24 October 2008, and say that:

“It is always a reasonable step for a general qualifications body to assess a disabled candidate in relation to the components of an examination taken by that candidate as if those components comprised the entire examination.”

These Regulations amend the 2007 Regulations, which stated that in order to prevent a provision, criterion or practice placing a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage, the granting of an exemption from one or more of the components of any examination or assessment shall be a step which it is always reasonable for a general qualifications body to have to take.

Older People Denied Access To Skills Training

Older people are being robbed of the chance to play an active part in society because they can’t access new skills through adult education according to leading older people’s charity Help the Aged. New research shows that two thirds of older people (64 per cent) are put off attending adult education courses because of the threat of crime when they go out(1), while four out of ten people aged 65 and over struggle due to lack of transport, high course fees and inadequate information about available courses.

A Help the Aged report, Learning for Living, warns that unless older people are able to further their skills and learn new ones, there is a danger that they will become more and more excluded from society. With their research showing that more than one third of older people saying they feel out of touch with modern life, the Charity is calling for all Government departments to recognise that older people need skills to play an active role in society and ensure these are made available to them.

Amy Swan, Policy Officer for Help the Aged, says: “Education and learning new skills are incredibly important for people of all ages, but all too often older people are left behind. Barriers such as lack of transport, fear of crime or high course fees make it very difficult for older people to access courses that will help them keep up to date with changes in modern life.”

The Help the Aged research also shows that:

• Three quarters of older people (73 per cent) want adult education courses to cover how to stay healthy and active as you get older;
• Six out of 10 people aged 65 and over (59 per cent) are interested in understanding new technology including the internet and digital television;
• Three fifths of older people (58 per cent) want courses giving financial advice and tips on managing money;
• Half of older people (49 per cent) are interested in learning about how the social care system works.

Amy Swan continues: “It’s not surprising that older people want to learn how to manage their finances, keep up with advancements in technology and how to stay fit and healthy as they get older – these are all skills that will help prevent them being brushed aside by society.“

Help the Aged is calling for:

• The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) to put pressure on other government departments to recognise the skills older people need to prevent isolation and exclusion, for example financial literacy, ICT skills and health management;
• Public authorities to consider the impact of any proposed policy changes on older people – identifying if there is a need for skills and providing budget where necessary;
• DIUS to invest in an effective adult learning infrastructure; provide fully funded learning officers in every locality; a learning portal for information; and learning vouchers to support groups wanting to organise their own learning.