News and analysis HR news briefing
The HR news briefing:
Women lose state pension age discrimination battle
What you should know:
Campaigners lost a significant
legal battle in October against
the government’s handling of
the rise in the women’s state
pension age, from 60 to 65, in
line with men. This will go up
again for women to 66 by 2020
and to 67 by 2028.
Women born in the 1950s
argued that raising their pension
age ‘unlawfully discriminated
against them on the grounds of
age, sex, and age and sex
combined’. The judges
disagreed, however.
The court’s decision was
that: ‘There was no direct
discrimination on grounds of
sex, because this legislation does
not treat women less favourably
than men in law. Rather it
equalises a historic asymmetry
between men and women and
thereby corrects historic direct
discrimination against men.’
Ros Altmann, former pensions
minister and campaigner, said
that the changes had not been
done in a way that gave women
enough time to adjust: “It was
always going to be difficult to
prove that a policy intended to
equalise men’s and women’s
pension age was discriminatory.
“But many of those affected
are suffering real hardship
because successive governments
failed to properly inform
women of the original 1995 Act
changes, so they were expecting
their state pension at age 60 and
had inadequate chances to
prepare. That is perhaps
more like maladministration
than discrimination.”
What you should do:
Hephzi Pemberton, founder
and CEO of Equality Group,
said that while state pensions
are beyond employers’
control, equality of reward
and remuneration internally
is not.
“As a society we should be
striving to ensure ultimate
equality across gender, race and
abilities in the workplace by
creating and implementing
positive policies. There are still a
number of steps that workplaces
need to take to improve their
working cultures. Increasing the
general knowledge and
awareness around equal pay and
pensions will only serve to
improve social relations.”
Progress on racial bullying and ethnicity pay gaps slow
What you should know:
A quarter (25%) of BAME
employees have experienced
racial bullying or harassment
at work, according to Business
in the Community (BITC)’s
latest Race At Work Charter
survey. This signalled no
improvement on last year.
While 63% of organisations
said they regularly monitor their ethnicity pay
gap, only 31% would be comfortable sharing this
information publicly.
BITC’s Race At Work Charter asks companies to
commit to: appointing an executive sponsor for
race, capturing data and publicising progress,
ensuring zero tolerance of harassment and
bullying, making equality in the workplace the
responsibility of all leaders and managers, and
taking action that supports ethnic minority
career progression.
This year’s research found that while 97% of
employers have a zero-tolerance policy on racist
harassment and bullying, just
45% have commissioned a
review into bullying and
harassment in the workplace.
What you should do:
Binna Kandola, senior partner
and co-founder at Pearn
Kandola, said that talking
about this may feel
uncomfortable but employers must tackle this
head on: “Having a conversation about racism can
be difficult, but the best way to foster change and
create a positive environment is to encourage
dialogue and develop our understanding of the
issues that BAME staff are facing. Such exercises
may involve carrying out formal research and
consultation, as the most vulnerable staff might
feel reluctant to openly share their experiences.
“The way to start though is for employers to
demonstrate to those who feel victimised that
they are aware of the issues and are genuinely
willing to help.”
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6 HR November 2019 hrmagazine.co.uk
All photography: AdobeStock
/hrmagazine.co.uk