Discrimination against people on the grounds of race or gender has long been wholly unacceptable in the workplace – as every business owner knows. But discrimination can take many forms and the Government is keen to eliminate all of them. A raft of new legislation of new legislation means that it is up to you, as the employer, to be vigilant against any kind of workplace prejudice.

The main aim of current employment discrimination law is to ensure that people are treated equally, and that decisions are not made on the basis of gender, race of disability. From December 2003 the ‘Employment Equality Regulations 2003’ will specifically outlaw discrimination at work and in training in respect of sexual orientation, religion and belief, while an EU Employment Directive will prohibit age discrimination from October 2006.

In order to comply with the new laws, you must take steps to ensure that no worker is treated any less favourably than another because of sexual orientation, religious or similar beliefs, or age.

This applies to all stages of the employment process, from initial recruitment, to salaries, training, benefits and promotions for existing staff, through to the end of an employee’s service. The laws prohibit any kind of harassment, victimisation and direct discrimination, as well as indirect discrimination, which means setting a criterion or provision which unjustifiably disadvantages certain people.

Adhering to these principles is not always easy and discrimination can often be inadvertent. For example, a job advert requiring candidates to be ‘under 30’ is an obvious example of age discrimination. An advert requiring’ 6 GCSE’s is less so, yet it rules out anyone old enough to have taken O-levels.

You should draft, publicise and enforce clear policies on all forms of discrimination.

More information can be found at the Government Website: