CRE HELPING EMPLOYERS MAKE IT EQUAL
(25 November 2005)

The Commission for Racial Equality today launched its Code of Practice on 'Racial Equality in Employment', a toolkit to eliminate racism at work. The guide follows a three month consultation with a wide spectrum of employers across Britain. Launching the code at the National Union of Equality Officers, Trevor Phillips, CRE Chair said: For many people, work is the only place where they interact with those from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds and whether we like it or not, this is set to increase over the next two generations. This presents new challenges for employers and employees alike.

At the heart of this lies the question, how can people who are all very different in their traditions and lifestyles manage to live and work in the same space peacefully and prosperously. Each year we receive thousands of complaints from employees about incidents at work, yet the law is ill-equipped to help in many of these cases.

It is because of these issues that I have talked about the need for a modern 'code of civility' for multiethnic Britain. Just as we exercise common courtesies on the road, to smooth our encounters in multi-ethnic Britain we also need some informal rules and this needs to cover the workplace. But these rules need discussing, agreeing upon and constant updating.

Talking about the revised code which is the most important piece of statutory guidance for employers from the CRE since the launch of the original in 1984, Mr Phillips added: This guidance has been produced to help employers feel comfortable and confident about meeting their legal requirements under the Race Relations Act * and their feedback has been invaluable. We hope it will help them embrace changes to the law, enabling them to be modern and progressive employers who can harness the skills and talents of an international workforce.

Key changes

• The new code of practice is an accurate reflection of current legislation and the modern world of work.
• The new code provides employers with more real-life employment tribunal case law examples and detailed guidance on topics such as ethnic monitoring, anti-harassment and racial equality policies.
• In addition the code contains specific recommendations for trade unions and other membership organisations as both employers and providers of services.
• There are recommendations for employment/recruitment agencies and a separate chapter on the rights and responsibilities of workers.

The new guide can be found at www.cre.gov.uk