Find some example case studies of discrimination and examples of polices companies have introduced to assist in complying with the law and increase their own knowledge of diversity.
Ethnic Discrimination Case Studies
Example
Paul was working as a deputy chief constable of a police authority in Scotland when he applied for a promotion with another force. Despite being well qualified for the post he was not selected for interview. He found out that all those who had been short-listed were Scottish and that some of these applicants were less qualified than he was. He began to suspect that he had not been given the opportunity to go for the job because of his ethnic background, which was English. He came to the CRE for advice and assistance.
In response to enquiries, the police authority denied the allegations of racial discrimination. They argued that legislation did not apply between Scottish and English people. This question was settled at an employment appeal tribunal who stated that the 1976 Race Relations Act does apply between these groups. (This was confirmed at an appeal tribunal - and by the Scottish court of appeal in another case.) The full case was due to be heard at an employment tribunal, but before the hearing the police authority accepted an out of court settlement. The police authority agreed to issue an apology and donate a four-figure sum to a charity of Paul’s choice.
Example
A Pakistani man who had worked for a Yorkshire company for twenty years and put up with occasional racial remarks and jokes. Gradually, these increased until he felt the abuse had become a regular feature. He complained to his manager and explained that his supervisor and other employees were involved and that he was happy for the issue to be resolved internally. His manager did not take the complaint seriously and dealt with it very informally, sending the wrong signals to other employees. The employee left work suffering from stress. He took the case to employment tribunal claiming that he had developed psychiatric illness as a result of the racial abuse and the employers way of dealing with it. The Company argued that the psychiatric illness pre-existed the abuse, but the tribunal found for the employee and awarded compensation running into six figures. This included loss of earnings, future loss of earnings, pension loss, injury to feelings, and interest.
Example
A supermarket manager who demanded that workers at one ASDA shop with 'foreign sounding' names produce proof of their entitlement to work in the UK cost his company £750 per employee when they were successful in bringing a race discrimination claim against the supermarket giant.
The manager was trying to avoid the company being fined for employing persons not entitled to work in the UK, but by selecting only those with foreign sounding names for the check, he was discriminatory in his approach. Some of the employees had worked for the company for 18 years.
The case illustrates the point that any policy adopted for dealing with such matters must be applied consistently to the whole workforce.
Gender Reassignment Case Studies
Example
Following the recommendation of the Advocate General, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that it was contrary to the Social Security Equal Treatment Directive for a male to female transsexual to be refused a retirement pension before the age of 65 when under UK law a woman is entitled to receive a state pension at the age of 60.
Jemma (name has been changed to protect identity) was born a male but underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2001. In 2002 she applied to have her state pension paid at the age of 60. The Department for Work and Pensions refused on the grounds that she was still a male and would therefore have to wait until the age of 65. Jemma appealed to the Social Security Appeal Tribunal and the Social Security Commissioner, who referred the question to the ECJ.
The action complained of in this case occured before April 2005, when the Gender Recognition Act 2004 came into force. The Act gives transsexual people who make a qualifiying application the right, from the date of recognition, to marry in their acquired gender and to obtain the same social security benefits as anyone else of that gender. The ruling will therefore apply to female transsexuals who applied for but were denied a pension at age 60 before the Act came into force.
Disability Discrimination Case Studies
Example
F worked for over thirty years in a betting shop. He developed a mobility impairment due to a back injury and the side effect of a pre-existing medical condition and he subsequently used a wheelchair to aid mobility. Upon attempting to return to work after a short period of sickness absence, his employer advised that F 's use of the wheelchair would present them with problems in the work premises, which were not suitably accessible for wheelchair users. The employer proceeded to terminate F 's employment, only looking into the possibilities of making changes to the premises after he appealed against the decision to dismiss him. A technical access consultant working for the Employment Service prepared a report recommending various reasonable adjustments the cost of which would be in the region of £7500. However, the employer still decided to uphold the decision to terminate F 's employment and not make the recommended adjustments to their premises without consulting their landlord at all. The case settled before hearing for the sum of £100,000.
What can you do?
Example
B&Q produces a calendar of religious festivals and events and promotes products linked to different festivals, e.g. they make sure they have plenty of candles available in stores around the time of Eid and Diwali. Some stores have organised product demonstrations in different languages, which greatly improves customer service and helps to attract a more culturally diverse customer base.