Why employers shouldn’t be afraid to use positive action

Many of you will have heard about the recent case of Cheshire Police being found to have unlawfully discriminated against a job applicant on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation and race. This case represents an unfortunate example of how well intentioned efforts, to diversify a Police Force in order to better represent local communities, can backfire when not operationalised carefully.

Whilst this case is a cautionary tale, fear of getting it wrong and being sued by an unsuccessful applicant doesn’t mean that employers should stop taking action at all. With four out of five businesses reporting skills shortages, hiring staff from as broad a range of backgrounds as possible is not just good business sense it’s critical.   

Positive action doesn’t have to be limited to general recruitment though, and can be used to offer apprentices to budding new recruits who might be looking for a career change or a first taste of work. The newly published “Positive Action in Apprenticeships” report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission shows the steps taken by leading employers such as Jaguar Land Rover and EDF Energy to recruit female apprentices. This is encouraging but sadly there are far fewer schemes to help recruit ethnic minority or disabled apprentices. The use of positive action in apprenticeships is limited and reflects a wider reluctance by employers to use this tool. This is a missed opportunity, when used correctly, positive action is a powerful way for employers to foster inclusive working environments that allow everyone to reach their full potential.

Below are some key things to remember to make sure you are acting proportionately and stay on the right side of the law:

1.      Make sure you have workforce data and understand it. This will help you pinpoint  whether or not you have underrepresented groups and if some groups have particular needs that are not being met, or are disadvantaged in some way.

2.      Be transparent and open about your recruitment and hiring practices with all your staff. Your organisation cannot have a specific policy of automatically treating certain groups more favourably.

3.      Understand what “as qualified as” means when you have a tie-break situation. Think about an applicant’s overall ability, competence and professional experience as well as formal qualifications.

4.      Review how well your programme is working to see if it is effective in addressing under-representation and disadvantage.

At the end of the day the most suitable person for the job should always be hired, but we should make sure our recruitment strategies only assess relevant criteria when deciding what suitable means, reach a broad range of candidates and recognise that the playing field isn’t always level, it sometimes needs a helping hand…

For more information on how to take positive action measures without straying into positive discrimination, please visit the EHRC website at: www.equalityhumanrights.com. 

If you have examples of how positive action has made a positive impact in your workplace, I would love to hear about them and I’m sure other employers would too.