Race
The Equality Act 2010 says that people must not be unfairly discriminated against because of:
colour
nationality
ethnic or national origins
Someone's race is made up of a combination of these things. For example:
white, British, of Polish national origin
black, British, of African ethnic origin and Nigerian national origin
| Key Employee Rights | What Employers Must Do |
|---|---|
| Protection from direct discrimination (e.g. refusal to hire or promote someone due to their race). | Take steps to prevent discrimination in all aspects of the organisation. For example, inclusivity and representation |
| Protection from indirect discrimination (e.g. policies that disadvantage employees from certain racial groups) | Have equal opportunity policies in place and for them to be included in training measures |
| Protection from harassment and victimisation in the workplace | Revise recruitment policies; remove discriminatory wording to present opportunity to all |
| Monitor any risk factors such as employees or processes that pose to breach anti-discrimination laws | |
| Protection from harassment and victimisation in the workplace |
Types of Racial Discrimination
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Against an individual directly due to their race or characteristics associated with their race.
Example: Ade is black. After an argument with someone at work who is white, Ade is given a final written warning. The other person gets a first written warning. Both were equally to blame but the person who investigated the incident was biased and assumed that Ade had caused the problem.
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Doing something that will impact those of a particular race more so than another.
Example: A cleaning company needs to reduce their number of cleaners. The company uses English language skills as one of their redundancy selection criteria.
Two cleaners are from Bulgaria. They speak English well but do not have good written skills. The other cleaners are from the UK and English is their first language. The employer selects the two cleaners from Bulgaria for redundancy based on their lower level of written English.
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Racial harassment is when someone experiences unwanted behaviour related to race.
Example: Danny's colleagues regularly use racialised opinions and racist terms towards Turkish people. Danny is intimidated by this and feels it's created a hostile environment for them at work.
Danny is not Turkish and the language was not directed towards them. However, they could still make a complaint of harassment related to race because of the hostile environment they feel it's created for them at work.
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Victimisation is when someone is treated less favourably as a result of being involved with a discrimination or harassment complaint.
Example: Jordan raised a grievance with their employer because of ongoing racist comments and behaviour towards them that managers have ignored. Jordan's colleague Charlie made a statement to support Jordan's complaint after witnessing some incidents.
Since then, Charlie has received aggressive emails from a manager about the witness statement. And both Jordan and Charlie have not been invited to some important meetings they would usually be invited to.
Case Law
The Richemont Race Discrimination Case
- Cheryl Spragg, was an employee at Richemont who employees bullied and HR whilst being denied opportunities to progress all because of her skin colour
Royal Mail Group Ltd v Efobi 2021 (an appeal case)
- Whilst this appeal was dismissed it raised an important question of whether a change in equality legislation wording would alter the burden of proof required in employment discrimination cases protecting the victims
What’s Protected and What Isn’t?
| Protected | Unprotected |
|---|---|
| Equal access to training, promotion and transfer opportunities | Organisations which discriminate due to the way they work (e.g. a hostel for Asian women recruiting only Asian women employees) |
| Equal rights to pay and benefits and employment terms and conditions | |
| Equal protection during recruitment and redundancy processes |
How Employers Can Further Remove Racial Discrimination
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Avoid using umbrella terms and stereotypes unnecessarily whilst considering if your words are accurate reflections
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Accept and acknowledge that ethnicity is an integral part of personal identity and treat it as such
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Continue to educate yourself, listen and learn as language and preferences continuously evolve
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Own and learn from your mistakes, apologise for mistakes in your terminology or conduct
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Continue to strive for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to make your professional environment supportive and welcoming
“A supportive, accessible, and fair workplace empowers disabled employees and ensures compliance with legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010.”