Small businesses have been urged to be on their guard against job applicants who attempt to trick employers and then file a discrimination claim.

So-called ‘career applicants’ send two identical applications for a position, but change their sex or race details on one of the forms. If one CV results in an interview but the other does not, the individual then files a discrimination claim against the firm.

“The firms most likely to be targeted are those perceived as not having the strongest equal opportunity policies, and small and medium-sized companies without a human resource department,” warned Nathan Davidson, an employment lawyer at KSB Law.

Mr Davidson said that such cases were hard to defend; many of the firms affected choose to settle out of court. If the case does go on to a tribunal, a firm could be forced to make two payments – one for loss of earnings and one for hurt feelings.

He added: “There are two views of the people doing this – one is that they are scandalously using discrimination legislation for financial gain, and the other is that they are policing discrimination law and will only be able to catch out sloppy employers.”

Firms were advised to use a set application forms instead of relying solely on a CV, and set clear and objective criteria for the position advertised.

Business Hotline Publications, November 14, 2005

Young people from certain ethnic minority groups are out-performing their working-class white counterparts in securing well-paid jobs, according to research funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

New generations of Indian, Chinese, Caribbean and African families are succeeding in employment largely due to the encouragement of their parents, the research found.

Lucinda Platt, who has tracked the employment of 140,000 people in England and Wales for over 30 years, said that people from Indian working-class families were the most successful; 56 per cent of this group secured professional or managerial roles in adulthood, while just 43 per cent of those from white, non-immigrant backgrounds went into such occupations.

Ms Platt argued that migrant parents were more likely to encourage and expect their children to do well at school, and this accounts for their success in later life.

However, the study found that not all ethnic minorities enjoyed the same level of success as others. People from Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities were much less likely than other migrant groups and whites to gain high-status employment. The report said that: “Pakistanis were less likely to end up in professional and managerial families even when taking their backgrounds and their own educational level into account”.

Guardian, November 14, 2005

A mixed picture has emerged from the latest data from the Office for National Statistics on UK pay gaps.

Figures from the 2005 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) revealed a narrowing of the median gender pay gap for full time employees.

However they also confirm that pay gaps between the UK’s highest and lowest paid workers and between the public and private sectors have widened.

John Philpott, chief economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said there were lessons to be learned from the latest figures.

“Despite good news on the gender pay gap, the latest ASHE nonetheless shows that there is considerable scope for further progress toward genuine pay equality, particularly if one considers that relatively few woman work full time and that woman as a whole still tend to be concentrated in low-paid sectors of the economy.

“While encouraging high reward for high performance, the widening gap between top earners and those struggling in the bottom reaches of the labour market highlights the need for much greater effort to improve the basic skills and earning power of less skilled worker.”

CIPD press release, November 10, 2005

Older workers could face reduced redundancy payments as a result of new age discrimination legislation, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) fears.

Currently, employees aged 41 and over receive higher statutory redundancy payments than younger workers with equivalent lengths of service.

However from October 2006, when new age discrimination regulations come into effect, this will no longer be permissible.

The TUC is concerned that the Government will decide to simply reduce the redundancy rates for older workers rather than bringing younger employees up to the higher rate.

TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, said: “European rules to outlaw age discrimination are welcome. Unions have campaigned for this for years. Older workers know just how difficult it can be to find jobs, even when they combine years of experience with up to date skills.

“But it would be a real shame to spoil this advance, by levelling down statutory redundancy payments so that workers of all ages get the same lower rate. It sends the wrong signal to employers who may feel free to cut other benefits to their older staff in the same way.”

TUC press release, November 11, 2005

Freelancers and small business owners are jeopardising their health by working up to 100 hours per week, according to a new survey.

The study, carried out by Employment Law Advisory Services (ELAS), showed that the small business owners often worked well above the 48 hour week maximum set by the Working Time Directive, with the average entrepreneur putting in 58 hours weekly.

Peter Mooney, ELAS spokesman also warned of the risks faced by freelance professionals who work excessive hours.

“Freelancers may not have the same worries about an employee suing them, but they still have health and safety commitments wherever they do work,” Mr Mooney said.

“Like anyone else, by working long hours, they are also risking ill-health and accidents which put both themselves and others at risk.”

www.freelanceuk.com, November, 2005

Staff in manual jobs are unlikely to receive professional training, despite the fact that such workers have the greatest skills gap.

A TUC report, ‘Training, who gets it?’, found that a third of businesses do not offer any training to their staff; 39 per cent of the workforce received no training last year.

Workers in semi-skilled and manual jobs are the least likely to be given training. Less than 45 per cent of employers gave training to manual workers.

Despite this, employers say that these workers have the biggest skills gap that needs to be addressed.

The report warns that 62 per cent of employers expect the responsibility for training to shift to the employee in the future, something the TUC said will mean that the bulk of training budgets are allocated to more confident and better-qualified staff who know what training is available and are happy to arrange it.

“If individuals are expected to take greater responsibility of their own training needs we will have a situation where whoever shouts the loudest, or knows how the training system works, will get the most out of the training budget,” said Brendan Barber, TUC general secretary. “This report shows that if businesses really want value for money from their training then they must find out what their staff need. Token gesture training for the masses and expensive training for the elite will not address the real problems of workers unable to keep up with the fast-changing modern world of business.”

He added: “Managers need to embrace the skills agenda, work with the unions, and deliver training for staff who really need it.”

TUC press release, November 8, 2005

Older workers could face reduced redundancy payments as a result of new age discrimination legislation, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) fears.

Currently, employees aged 41 and over receive higher statutory redundancy payments than younger workers with equivalent lengths of service.

However from October 2006, when new age discrimination regulations come into effect, this will no longer be permissible.

The TUC is concerned that the Government will decide to simply reduce the redundancy rates for older workers rather than bringing younger employees up to the higher rate.

TUC general secretary, Brendan Barber, said: “European rules to outlaw age discrimination are welcome. Unions have campaigned for this for years. Older workers know just how difficult it can be to find jobs, even when they combine years of experience with up to date skills.

“But it would be a real shame to spoil this advance, by levelling down statutory redundancy payments so that workers of all ages get the same lower rate. It sends the wrong signal to employers who may feel free to cut other benefits to their older staff in the same way.”

TUC press release, November 11, 2005

What new employment legislation can we expect in the new parliamentary session? The Labour Party committed itself in its election manifesto to deliver on the Warwick Agreement in full.

The Warwick Agreement is a set of policies for the workplace that were agreed between trade union leaders and Labour Party officials at the Labour Party National Policy Forum, held at Warwick University in July 2004. The Labour Party expressly promised to introduce the following items from the Warwick agenda in the next session of parliament:

• an extension of the four weeks’ annual leave granted to all workers by the Working Time Regulations 1998 to make it additional to bank holiday entitlement, and thus allow all workers eight extra statutory holidays in each year; and
• an increase in paid maternity leave to nine months from 2007 (and to one year by the end of the next parliament); to extend rights to flexible working and to allow fathers to take up to half of any maternity leave.

In other areas, the Labour Party was already considering bringing in new employment laws:

• to raise the national minimum wage to £5.05 per hour from October 2005 and £5.35 per hour from October 2006; and
• to narrow the pay and promotion gap between men and women.

Businesses are to save up to £115m a year in administration costs following the Government’s decision to introduce direct payment of Working Tax Credit (WTC).

The old system, under which WTC was paid by employer, is to phased out from November 8th. New claimants will have their WTC paid directly in their account, and existing claimants will be switched over within the next five months.

Commenting on the changes, Paymaster General Dawn Primarolo, said: “Payment of Working Tax Credit by employers has helped reinforce the message that work pays. However, the Government is committed to reducing regulatory burdens wherever possible, and following consultation with employers we are from today starting to replace payment of Working Tax Credit through employers with direct payment to claimants. This will save businesses up to £115m every year from next April.” Employers should already have notified staff about the change. Any questions on the process can be raised through the Employer’s Helpline on 08457 143 143.

Employees with questions can call the Tax Credits Helpline on 0845 300 3900.

HM Revenue and Customs press release

A new online learning course to help employers deal with bullying in the workplace has been launched by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) to coincide with Ban Bullying At Work day.

The free online course shows employers how to recognise and deal with bullying, as well as harassment, and provides good practice advice to developing workplace policies. Using the online course, employers can set up procedures to suit their own company or revisit the website at any time for practical advice.

The topics covered include:

• definitions of bullying and harassment
• recognition and prevention
• how to deal with bullying and harassment
• the consequences of inaction.

Bullying has become a major concern in the workplace, causing stress and resulting in 18 million days lost every year.

John Taylor, ACAS chief executive, said: “Bullying and harassment of any kind are in no-one’s interest and should not be tolerated. It increases absenteeism, staff turnover and reduces the quality of work and staff morale. There can be a lot of confusion on how to recognise and deal with the issues. Our new online course can help employers put in place the right procedures to deal with problems promptly.”

ACAS press release, November 7, 2005

A female special forces spy, seeking £686,000 damages from the Ministry of Defence, has told an employment tribunal of a catalogue of sexual abuse and harassment which has left her feeling suicidal.

Corporal Leah Mates, of the 14 Intelligence Company in Northern Ireland, is asking for the damages and loss of earnings for sexual discrimination, involving 43 allegations against the army. Ms Mates said she was left feeling suicidal because of her treatment by superiors and by the prejudice suffered by females which ‘permeates the whole army’.

Allegations include: her commanding officer carrying out a sex act on himself in a shared tent while saying her name, sexual taunts, graffiti and physical abuse.

Her statement, seven pages of which could not be released as they refer to her time with the special forces in Northern Ireland, said: “I now understand that the army is a male preserve and a woman who tries to establish herself does so at the peril of her health and happiness. There is no point expecting the army authorities to do anything to help because they have the same prejudices against women.”

The tribunal continues.

Scotsman, November 9, 2005