Diverse Cultures,
One Workplace
What the law requires from you, and
what you can do to harness the energy
of a diverse workplace.
Why have a policy of equality and
of respect for difference?
Because you should…
• Building a strong ethic of respect for diversity
will avoid any tensions from building up
amongst different ethnic groups in the
workplace.
• The workplace is a microcosm of society. All
members of society benefit from inclusiveness
and a culture of equal opportunities.
To gain the economic advantage…
• In a hirers’ market, companies will want to
maximise their advantage by ensuring they
are hiring the very best from a diverse pool of
applicants.
• Retention will improve in a company where
employees feel valued as unique individuals.
• Having a diverse and flexible labour force will
help your business to gain the advantage in
Ireland’s export-driven, globally-linked
economy.
Because it’s the law…
• Employers are required to accommodate
difference, and to avoid treating any of their
employees unequally on any of the nine
grounds named in the legislation.
• Employers are required not merely to react
properly to, but to actively prevent any kind of
discrimination in the form of bullying and
harassment in the workplace.
The Employment
Equality Acts
1998 – 2007
The legislation prohibits
discrimination on any of these
grounds:
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Gender
Marital status
Family Status
Sexual orientation
Race
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Religion
Age
Disability
Membership of
the travelling
community
The legislation affects
• Access to employment/ recruitment;
• Conditions of employment, including pay and
other benefits;
• Training or experience for employment;
• Promotion or re-grading;
• Classification of posts;
• Dismissal and collective agreements
The legislation applies to all types
of workers
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Full-time, part-time and temporary;
Private and public sector;
Vocational training bodies;
Employment agencies;
Trade Unions;
Professional and trade bodies.
If an employee claims your
treatment of them has been
affected by any of the nine grounds
under which discrimination is
prohibited…
…the burden of proof shifts to the
employer…
…so you need to be able to show
that you have applied objective
criteria in your treatment of your
employees, at all stages of the
relationship – from hiring and
managing the conditions of
employment, to promotion,
dismissal and redundancy.
A good diversity policy will help you to do
more than merely avoid litigation…
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Work in a positive working environment;
Increase loyalty, motivation and morale;
Improve employee performance;
Reduce absenteeism and staff turnover;
Improve service to a diverse customer base;
Improve your company image – remember
that a good reputation attracts good talent,
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…the most important benefit of all…
You can contribute to the removal of
barriers to full social and economic
participation for all members of society,
thereby contributing to a better Ireland.
Advertising
• The employee-friendly company attracts highperformance workers.
• Think about:
– What are you doing to attract the best?
– How are you reaching them?
– Does your advertising reflect your policy on
diversity and equal opportunities?
The application process
• Is your application form easily accessible to all
segments of the labour market? For example,
does it allow employees to give detail about
on-the-job training that may not have an Irish
equivalent?
• Does the form include a commitment to
diversity & equality?
• Requiring two references, both of which are
from Irish jobs, will constitute discrimination.
The Labour Court has clarified that two
references may be required, where one is a
character reference (Czerski v Ice Group,
2006).
• Be open to references from foreign
companies. Consider asking a cultural
intermediary to call the source of a reference
from abroad, if there are communication
difficulties.
Interviewing:
beware of your unconscious prejudices…
• DON’T judge the candidate within the first few
moments of the interview;
• DON’T judge by appearance;
• DON’T assume all members of a particular
ethnic minority all share the same
characteristics;
• DON’T allow one good or bad answer to
distort the totality of the interview; and
• DO apply objective criteria rather than vague
impressions in making your selection.
• It is a very important part of your diversity
policy to make sure every member of the
interview panel is trained in diversity and
equality issues.
• The questions asked should apply to all
candidates, and they should be documented.
• Your documentation should demonstrate that
that criteria for selection were based solely on
the essential skills required for the job.
• Keep interview documentation for 12 months.
And a final word about what might
constitute discrimination:
In Munck v NUI Maynooth (2005), the
interview process was found to have
been discriminatory as the assessment
board implied that the candidate did not
understand “the Irish dimension”. The
Employment Appeals Tribunal made an
award of €10,000 as compensation for
discrimination.
Cultivate a productive atmosphere
and improve employee satisfaction
by making positive provision for
cultural difference.
Why?
“Good retention costs less than
recruitment.”
How?
• Establish a focus group or support group for
ethnic minority or non-Irish workers – and
listen to what they have to say;
• Establish a mentoring programme, pairing
new staff with a person they can turn to while
they are settling in;
• Consider accommodating dress or dietary
religious requirements that may not be the
norm here, and accommodating atypical
religious practice.
• Accommodate for special holidays - find out
whether there are religious holidays you may
not be aware of, and ask what is the best time
for a foreign employee to take their long
holiday and travel home.
• Plan for flexible unpaid leave, to allow for
unplanned visits to the homeland in case of an
illness or death in the family.
Language
• Colloquialisms, fast speech and technical
jargon can confuse non-native speakers of a
language – be sensitive, people may be
reluctant to say they don’t understand.
• Consider whether you need to provide
language training, to have other training
interpreted, or to have contacts, policy
documents or instructional literature
translated.
At the very least…
• The onus is on the employer to make sure
that all employees can fully understand the
terms of employment and health and safety
instructions:
• 58 Named Complainants who challenged
Good Concrete Ltd on this issue each received
an award of €5,000 from the Equality Officer
for discriminatory treatment in 2008.
It is not good enough to assume
people know their rights.
• The Labour Court made an award to the
applicant in Rasaq v Campbell catering in
1998, as she had not been told she was
entitled to have a representative present at a
disciplinary hearing.
• This might have been avoided if the policy
document covering disciplinary procedures
had been translated and/or if its
dissemination had included appropriate
training.
• A case against Mr. Eamon Murray of Kilnaleck
Mushrooms made the headlines in 2006.
The employer had dismissed all of his
employees by telephone after they had
arranged union representation in relation to
an ongoing dispute. The dismissals were
considered particularly unfair as the workers
had limited knowledge of English, and
therefore of their rights. The maximum award
to each of them of two years’ salary illustrates
the attitude of the EAT to any perceived
exploitation of migrant workers.
Promotion
How to avoid standing on the glass
ceiling:
• Document (and disseminate) the essential
competencies required for all levels and roles
within the organisation.
• Ensure equality of access to training
opportunities that may lead to career
advancement.
• Ensure that all staff have equal opportunities to
apply for promotion (and document the fact).
• Develop fast-tracking processes to ensure that
organisational diversity is reflected at higher
levels.
• Monitor any statistical biases and examine
whether you are allowing a glass ceiling to
persist.
• Finally, ensure that any finalist who was not
selected knows why, and how he or she can
prepare for the next opportunity that arises.
…and at the very least…
• Apply fair & transparent selection procedures,
make sure you have documented how they
were applied to each candidate, and keep
documentation for 12 months.
• An award of €20,000 for discrimination plus
€5,000 for loss of earnings was made against
St. James’ hospital in 2007, when they were
unable to do so in respect of a candidate who
had been passed over for promotion.
Racism
• Like any other form of bullying or harrasment,
the behaviour of staff or customers to other
staff or customers can constitute racism.
• Employers should have a clear, concise policy
in place to deal with racism, detailing:
- a definition of racism/racist comments;
- a confidential reporting procedure;
- the process of investigation;
- & disciplinary measures.
• Your anti-racism policy should form part of
your Bullying & Harassment Policy.
• The Equality Authority’s Code of Practice on
Sexual Harassment and Harassment is an
excellent model.
• The policy should contain a clear and concise
commitment to eliminate any racial or sexual
harassment, and should detail the process
that is in place to deal with any such
behaviour.
• It is not enough to have a written policy – you
must ensure that it is disseminated and
understood, and that the procedures are
adhered to in practice.
• Remember that the onus is on the employer
to safeguard against racial harassment in
respect of all workplace relationships:
– Management to staff;
– Between staff members;
– Staff to clients or customers;
– Clients or customers to staff.
In a 2004 case against
the Shelbourne Hotel,
The Labour Court
confirmed that the onus
is on the employer to
prevent racial
harassment in the
workplace, and spelled
out the steps that must
be taken…
What is expected of you • Investigate complaints;
• Don’t hold a complaint against the
complainant;
• Implement your equality policy & provide
support.
So what is support?
• At the very least, be sure to properly
disseminate the Bullying & Harassment Policy.
• When Techniform (Waterford) Ltd hired an
investigator to inquire into an imputation of
harrasment, but failed to provide support to
the person experiencing it, this constituted
discrimination on the ground of race. The
company had never even distributed the
policy, a fact which was reflected in the award
made against it…
• When it comes to discrimination, bullying and
sexual or racial harassment, the best policy is
zero tolerance.
• Any employer who goes takes the extra steps
to celebrate diversity will be richly rewarded
as the unique and vibrant energy of a diverse
workplace is harnessed.