Discrimination Advice For Employers

To help avoid the risk of a discrimination claim, as an employer you should:

• Provide your staff with employment handbooks, including policies on equal opportunities and harassment, setting out what is and what is not acceptable behaviour.
• Have a grievance procedure so that concerns and complaints can be raised and dealt with effectively.
• Do not tolerate discriminatory behaviour by staff and make sure it is dealt with thorough and proper disciplinary measures.
• Review your employment contracts, policies and employee share schemes to ensure they comply with the law.
• Try to accommodate requests for family-friendly hours by employees with childcare or other family commitments, unless refusal is justified.
• Aim to make reasonable adjustments where this will ease difficulties suffered by a disabled employee in the workplace.
• Accommodate workers' different cultures and religious beliefs, if possible. For example, requests for time off to pray should be allowed unless a refusal is justified.
• Provide training on equal opportunities and harassment. This may help managers to avoid inappropriate questions at interviews, or to recognise and deal with harassment at an early stage.