Discrimination in the Workplace

Definition: Discrimination in the Workplace

Recognising Different Types of Discrimination in the Workplace

Workplace discrimination isn't confined to a single type. It's crucial to understand the different types, as the first step towards combating discrimination is recognising it. Here are some of the most commonly occurring forms:

• Age Discrimination
• Disability Discrimination
• Race Discrimination
• Sex/Gender Discrimination
• Religious Discrimination
• Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Age Discrimination in the Workplace

Disability Discrimination in the Workplace

Discrimination in the Workplace Examples

Instances of discrimination can present themselves in many forms in the workplace. These examples range from overt prejudice to subtle bias that is more challenging to identify. However, it's crucial to recognise such behavioural patterns to ensure equality and respect in professional environments. To simplify the understanding, let's discuss some real-life examples of discrimination in the workplace.

Real-life Examples of Discrimination in the Workplace

Reality often provides the clearest examples and illustrations. Identifying real-life instances of discrimination at work can be an effective tool for learning how to spot, combat, and prevent discriminatory actions. Below is an extensive list of real-world scenarios that will help highlight different forms of discrimination.

• Example 1: A qualified female employee passed over for a managerial position in favour of a less experienced male colleague, exemplifies gender discrimination.
• Example 2: An employee harassed by colleagues for his religious beliefs, resulting in a hostile work environment, illustrates religious discrimination.
• Example 3: An individual not hired because of their accent, although the job doesn't require customer interaction or communication-focused tasks, epitomises race or nationality discrimination.

Examples of Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace

Workplace harassment can be another ugly face of discrimination, causing distress and discomfort to the victim. It generally involves unwanted behaviour, comments, or actions of a discriminatory nature that may make a person feel offended, humiliated, or intimidated. The following examples shed light on how harassment and discrimination may collectively manifest in a professional setting.

Examples of Age and Disability Discrimination in the Workplace

Age and disability discrimination are other prominent forms of discriminatory practices. Age discrimination usually involves treating an employee or job applicant less favourably because of their age. Disability discrimination on the other hand happens when actions, rules, or policies in a workplace put an individual with physical or mental impairments at a disadvantage.

Causes and Effects of Discrimination in the Workplace

Discrimination in the workplace is a concern that affects individuals and businesses alike. By understanding the causes and effects, it's possible to create strategies to prevent such incidents and protect the rights of all employees. This exploration is crucial in fostering an inclusive and respectful working environment.

Exploring the Causes of Discrimination in the Workplace

Discrimination in the workplace is rooted in both societal and individual biases which may lead to unfair treatment based on factors like age, race, gender, religion, and disability.

Furthermore, lack of diversity and inclusion awareness in an organisation can also lead to workplace discrimination. Lack of awareness often stems from a lack of training or education about the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Lastly, organisational culture plays a pivotal role in this context. A company culture that fosters exclusion, tolerates prejudices, reinforces stereotypes, or discourages reporting can indirectly propagate discrimination.

Investigating the Effects of Discrimination in the Workplace

The effects of discrimination in the workplace are multifaceted and extensive. They impact not just the individual, but the work environment, productivity, and overall organisational success.

At the individual level, experiencing discrimination can be emotionally, mentally, and even physically taxing. It can lead to stress, anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. Physical health effects can include higher stress levels leading to hypertension, cardiac issues, and overall decline in well-being. Discrimination can lead to job dissatisfaction and lower self-esteem which hampers motivation, performance, and productivity.

From an organisational perspective, workplace discrimination can foster a negative company culture. This negativity could taint the company's reputation, making it harder to attract talented new hires. It may also affect business relationships, perceptions of customers or clients, and even the company's bottom-line performance.

Moreover, companies may also face significant legal and financial repercussions due to discrimination claims. Lawsuits, fines, and penalties can pose a significant risk and financial burden for an organisation. Therefore, understanding and addressing workplace discrimination should be a top priority for any business for legal, ethical, and financial reasons.

Legal Aspects of Discrimination in the Workplace

Legal protections are in place to prevent discrimination and ensure everyone is treated equally, regardless of certain protected characteristics. Understanding these laws is crucial not only for employees but also for employers, as lack of knowledge can lead to unintentional violations and legal consequences.

Achieving Understanding of Discrimination in the Workplace Laws

The laws against workplace discrimination, based on age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability and sexual orientation, are enshrined in legislation such as the Equality Act 2010. It proscribes discriminatory actions, and provides protections and rights to employees and job applicants.

The law also protects against harassment and victimisation. Harassment is unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that creates a humiliating, hostile, degrading, or offensive environment. Victimisation occurs when one is subjected to harmful treatment because they have lodged a complaint of discrimination or supported someone else's complaint.

"Reasonable Adjustments" is another key legal term. Employers must make changes to remove or minimise disadvantages experienced by disabled people in the workplace. These could include modifying the workspace, flexible working hours, or providing additional training.

Steps for Victims: Addressing Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace

For victims of discrimination and harassment at work, it's essential to know what steps to take towards resolution. This process begins from the moment an incident happens, to seeking legal recourse if necessary.

Initially, document what has happened. Note the date, time, location, people involved, and any witnesses. This helps create a record should you need to support a claim later on. Also, it is important to quickly report the incident to your immediate supervisor or the person designated by your company's policies to handle such complaints. This can lead to a swift resolution if the complaint is handled appropriately.

Should reporting within your company not provide satisfactory resolution, it's necessary to know your external reporting options—most notably, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). EHRC has powers to enforce equality legislation on age, disability, sex, race, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, sexual orientation, and gender reassignment.

If taking a claim to an Employment Tribunal, ensure to do it within three months (less one day) of the discrimination incident. Should the discrimination be ongoing, the countdown starts from the last incident of discrimination.

Procedure:
1. Identify Discrimination.
2. Document and Save Evidence.
3. Report Internally - Supervisor/HR.
4. Engage Grievance Procedure.
5. Report Externally - EHRC.
6. Employment Tribunal if necessary. 

Getting legal advice at any step of this process is also recommended. Law Centres, trade unions, and other community organisations can provide free advice and assistance. Solicitors specialising in employment law may be consulted as well.

Strategies to Prevent Discrimination in the Workplace

Preventing workplace discrimination is a significant task that needs proactive action, commitment, and collaboration from everyone involved. It hinges on fostering respectful workplaces, promoting diversity, ensuring clear communication, and enforcing a robust framework of policies and procedures against discrimination.

Implementing Effective Measures Against Age Discrimination in the Workplace

Age discrimination in the workplace can be detrimental, yet it often goes unnoticed or unaddressed. It is important that organisations take deliberate steps to prevent age discrimination. The key strategies to ensure this include raising awareness, implementing fair recruitment practices, training, and enforcing clear policies against age discrimination.

Raising awareness of age discrimination is the foundational step to deal with it. Employers and employees need to be conscious about the various harmful stereotypes and unconscious biases associated with different age groups.

Having a better understanding of these issues can reduce negative perceptions and improve interactions among different age groups. Workshops, seminars, diversity events, or team-building activities can be arranged to promote age diversity and inclusion.

Implementing fair recruitment and promotion practices is another effective strategy. Ensure that the job descriptions, recruitment advertisements, or promotional criteria don't contain any direct or indirect age bias.

Training on age diversity and inclusion is pivotal. This can help employees and managers to understand, appreciate, and respect the differences between different age groups. Training can also focus on how to manage multi-generational teams effectively.

Clear policies against age discrimination, along with effective implementation and enforcement, are imperative to curb age discrimination. These policies should provide a clear definition of age discrimination, highlight the company's stance against it, and illustrate the consequences of such actions.

Approaches to Deal with Disability Discrimination in the Workplace

Disability discrimination occurs when an employer or other entity covered by the Equality Act treats a qualified individual with a disability unfavourably because of their disability. Implementing an inclusive environment for disabled employees, promoting awareness, making reasonable adjustments, and implementing supportive policies are the key strategies to mitigate disability discrimination.

Implementing an inclusive environment involves designing accessible workspaces. This could include adjusting workstations, widening doorways, providing ramps as alternatives for stairs, or installing elevators with automatic doors, Braille markings, and audio features.

Promoting awareness about disabilities and the rights of disabled employees can foster an inclusive, respectful work culture. This can be done through talks, seminars, training sessions, or workshops aiming to combat stereotypes or prejudices towards disability.

Making reasonable adjustments is integral to accommodate disabled employees. This includes changes to the work environment, patterns of work, giving extra support, or altering duties. It's important to consult with the individual before making the adjustments to ensure they are appropriate and efficient.

Implementing supportive policies that clearly define disability discrimination, the company's stance against it, and the consequences of violating it, is pivotal. Provision of a clear procedure to report any incidents or grievances, and prompt actions taken on such reports can curate a supportive environment for disabled employees.