Equal Status Cases Highlight the Need for D&I Training

Equal Status Claims - What Do Organisations Need to Know
Deirdre Crowley and Denise Moran of Matheson discuss three recent key Irish cases where the organisations were each held to be vicariously liable for the acts of their employees.  They also provide practical guidance for employers to mitigate the risk of any such claims and to assist in robustly defending any such action that arises.

CIPD People Profession 2030 Report Highlights Important Role D&I has to Play
The CIPD People Profession 2030 report states that HR should ‘prioritise and dedicate resource to D&I; while D&I is not something ‘done’ by people teams in a vacuum, the people profession does have a key role to play.’

GB Gender Pay Gap Enforcement Delay
Firms will have another six months to report on their gender pay gap before action is taken against them, the equalities watchdog has said. Enforcement to make firms share the data was suspended for a year in March 2020 because of coronavirus.

Read more > https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56167925

Diversity and Inclusion Tops Shoosmiths New Board Agenda

As part of its commitment to diversity and inclusion, UK law firm Shoosmiths will create new activities to drive progress on this business issue.  The firm’s diversity and inclusion and learning and development teams are currently collaborating to create a new internal reciprocal mentoring programme. Members of the firm’s senior management board will be matched initially with a member of one of Shoosmiths’ employee-led inclusion networks. The reciprocal mentoring programme will upskill employees on how to make a mentoring relationship mutual and will be an opportunity to discuss how the firm can make further progress and embed diversity and inclusion into the workplace.

More from Business MK > https://businessmk.co.uk/diversity-and-inclusion-tops-law-firms-new-board-agenda/

Computer Says Go: Taking Orders From an AI Boss

Will your future boss be a computer?  If your first thought upon reading that sentence was "well it would be an improvement on my current human one," you wouldn't be alone. After all, an artificial intelligence (AI) software system might be better able to organise the staff rota without messing up your holidays. And getting some unbiased feedback from a line manager who can't be accused of having it in for you or of favouring other staff could make a pleasant change.

Read more > https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56023932

Recruitment Advert from D&I Experts

We thought we would share this job advert with you from D&I experts Frost as an example of a D&I supportive advertisement.  You might just know someone who wants the job too...!

Read more > https://app.beapplied.com/apply/gtjgeceth4

Awareness Days Calendar 2021

Audeliss and Involve have produced a useful calendar that sets out lots of diversity and inclusion-related awareness days in 2021. So, if you are looking to develop D&I awareness in your organisation, why not tie some initiatives around these official celebratory days?

Read more >  https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.involvepeople.org/resource/resmgr/downloadable_resources/2021_awareness_calendars/awareness_cal_2021_uk.pdf

D&I News in the Media

+ In the US, McDonald's has set a goal of having an equal number of men and women in leadership roles by 2030 as it looks to improve diversity at the company. The fast-food chain also said it would work to boost minority representation in the firm's senior US ranks from 29% to 35% over the next four years. Executive pay will be tied to meeting the targets. The effort follows claims of racial discrimination from black franchisees and executives in the US.

Read more > https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56116543

+ A worker at an Asian food manufacturer was discriminated against and harassed on grounds of race after being told he didn’t understand the recipes because he was white, an employment tribunal has ruled.  Mr Colin Sorby, who worked as a production operative on a zero-hours contract with Bradford Management Services at Mumtaz Foods, was also told by his supervisor, Mr Azeem Akhtar, to “go and work for an English company”, the tribunal heard.

Read more > https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/news/articles/curry-factory-worker-told-he-didnt-understand-recipes-because-he-was-white-was-discriminated-against

+ In the US, a Delaware judge on Tuesday rejected former McDonald's Corp Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook's bid to dismiss a lawsuit by the fast-food chain seeking to recoup millions of dollars in severance pay because he allegedly covered up improper sexual relationships with employees.

Read more > https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9216827/McDonalds-sue-ousted-CEO-alleged-lies-affairs-judge.html

+ An actress sacked over a Facebook post attacking homosexuality has had her claim for discrimination, breach of contract and harassment rejected. Seyi Omooba, 26, sued Leicester's Curve Theatre and her former agents for £128,000 after being dropped from a stage performance of The Color Purple. She had been due to play the lead character Celie, sometimes depicted as being in a lesbian relationship. But she was dismissed when a Facebook post she wrote in 2014 emerged.

Read more > https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-56089759

+ A Starbucks branch in Dublin has been ordered to pay compensation to a customer of Thai heritage after an employee drew "slanty" eyes on her cup.  Atercin Liffey Unlimited, trading as Starbucks Tallaght, has to pay Suchavadee Foley €12,000 (£10,680). The Workplace Relations Commission found Ms Foley was racially harassed under the Equal Status Act.

Read more > https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55725235

+ A worker at Sky TV who blew the whistle on a colleague for making 'sexually degrading remarks' and 'thrusting motions' towards female guests and presenters including Helen Mirren and Kay Burley has won his case for unfair dismissal.

Read more > https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9104523/Sky-News-whistleblower-unfairly-sacked-hearing-rules.html

+ The former Test umpire John Holder is suing the England and Wales Cricket Board for alleged racial discrimination. Holder lodged his claim at the London central office of the employment tribunal two days before Christmas.

Read more > https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/dec/29/former-test-umpire-john-holder-sues-ecb-for-alleged-racial-discrimination