Black and Asian women are more likely to be unemployed, have more problems finding a suitable job, and, when they do find work, often have to settle for a job for which they are over-qualified, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) report ‘Black Women and Employment’.

The report, published to coincide with the TUC Black Workers Conference, says that the unemployment rate among black women is, at 5.4 per cent, almost twice that among white women (2.9 per cent), and is only slightly lower among Asian women (4.8 per cent). Official figures also show that 9.4 per cent of black women and 8.3 per cent of Asian women, compared to just 5.7 per cent of white women, are on fixed-term contracts or working as temps.

Referring to recent Equal Opportunities Commission research, the report notes that 56 per cent of Pakistani women, 54 per cent of black Caribbean women and 49 per cent of Bangladeshi women aged 16-34 said that they often found it difficult to find employment. Only 34 per cent of white British women said that finding work was sometimes a problem. Of the same young women who struggled to find work, 22 per cent of Pakistani women had accepted jobs for which they were over-qualified; this compares to only 6 per cent of white British women.

The research also found differences in employer attitudes when interviewing: 21 per cent of Bangladeshi women, 24 per cent of black Caribbean and 26 per cent of Pakistani women had been asked in job interviews about their plans to get married or have children, compared to just 14 per cent of white British women.

To help fight this inequality the TUC recommends that trade union representatives be given a statutory right to take time off to concentrate on making UK workplaces fairer, that minority women be given greater access to training opportunities and help with finding affordable childcare, and that the Government make greater use of positive public-procurement policies.

Copies of the report are available from: www.tuc.org.uk/extras/bwae.pdf

TUC press release, April 7, 2006

An employment tribunal ruling in favour of 3,000 female care, cleaning and catering staff at Cumbria County Council could leave the authority facing a bill of more than £50m in unpaid bonus and overtime payments.

The women’s claims were first brought in 2002 under sex discrimination legislation; the women claimed that pay awards made by the council for cleaners, carers and caterers were discriminatory because the majority of workers in these roles were female, and argued that male workers enjoyed higher levels of pay.

A bid by council employers to settle the case ahead of the tribunal’s ruling was rejected by the workers.

Stefan Cross, a solicitor for the women, said that the payments due to the workers could comprise up to 40 per cent of back-pay over a 10-year period.

“For a full-time Grade 5 worker, this could mean up to a £60,000 pay-out before tax,” Mr Cross said.

The council has 48 days in which to appeal against the tribunal’s ruling.

Daily Telegraph, March 29, 2006

Training sessions and advice on age discrimination and the new legislation coming into force in October 2006 are being offered by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).

To coincide with final age discrimination regulations, which will be announced in late April 2006, ACAS will be producing advice on preventing age discrimination including a comprehensive website covering frequently asked questions and guidance for employers and employees. This will help employers determine how the regulations will affect them and what actions they should take. The advice will be online towards the end of April and further information on the training sessions is available from: www.acas.org.uk/emsobs/acas_events_new.asp

In the meantime, ACAS has produced a check list to start employers thinking about how they can meet the regulations’ requirements:

• Recruitment advertisements: avoid specifying a minimum maximum length of experience and advertise in a cross-section of media.
• Application forms: do not ask for a date of birth or unnecessary dates of employment, instead use skills and competence based applications.
• Selection procedures: train managers to avoid stereotypes and monitor the results of recruitment and selection.
  Training: make sure it is open to all.
• Performance appraisal: set the same standards regardless of age and when writing appraisals. Avoid age-based comments.
• Redundancy policy: review such policies as length of service.
• Equality policy: add age to equality policies and make sure bullying and harassment covers age.
• Know your workforce: think about who is likely to retire and consider flexible working for older workers.

ACAS press release, March 28, 2006

All employers should be using the new format form P46 from April 6 onwards. A copy of the new form is available on the Employers CD-ROM for 2006. New forms P46 can be ordered from the Employers Orderline on 08457 646 646. The purpose of the new form is to simplify what is required from employees. The new form will also help employers to operate the correct PAYE tax code in relation to a new employee.

What are the changes? The new form goes back to a two page one – the front for the employee to complete – the reverse filled in by the employer. The previous form asked the employee to tick each one of three boxes that applied to their employment situation. The new form asks the employee to simply just check just one box. The new form also includes a new Box D for the employee to tick if they are required to repay a student loan. This is the employer’s instruction to start making student loan deductions straight away if earnings are high enough.

Perhaps the biggest change is that the reverse of the new form P46 makes it very clear for employers which PAYE tax code they should use when an employee ticks either Box A or B or C:

• Box A (This is my first job since 6 April last) – Use the emergency tax code on a cumulative basis
• Box B (This is now my only job) – Use the emergency tax code on a non-cumulative Week 1/Month 1 basis
• Box C (I have another job or receive a state or occupational pension) – Use tax code BR

The emergency tax code for tax year 2006/07 is 503L

HM Revenue and Customs, April, 2006

The Government has revised its regulatory guidance on paid annual leave to prohibit the payment of ‘rolled-up’ holiday pay, a move welcomed by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Section 7 of the Working Time Regulations, which deals with paid annual leave, has been amended in response to the 16 March European Court of Justice decision in the joined cases of Caulfield and ors v Marshalls Clay Products Ltd; Clarke v Frank Staddon Ltd and Robinson-Steele v Retail Services Ltd.

The Government guidance reads: “Following an ECJ Judgement on 16 March 2006, Rolled Up Holiday Pay (RHP) is considered unlawful and employers should renegotiate contracts involving RHP for existing employees/workers as soon as possible so that payment for statutory annual leave is made at the time when the leave is taken. Where an employer has already given RHP in relation to work undertaken, and the payments have been made in a transparent and comprehensible manner, they can be set off against any future leave payments made at the proper time.”

Welcoming the change, Brendan Barber, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), said: “By acting swiftly on the recent ruling from the European courts that rolled-up holiday pay breaks EU law, the Government will make it harder for bad employers to cheat their staff out of their holiday pay. In the past it has been all too easy for employers to say they are paying staff for their holidays without ever coughing up an extra penny.”

Further information: The revised guidance is available from: www.dti.gov.uk/er/work_time_regs/wtr7.htm#section7

TUC press release, April 7, 2006

The first instalment of employment-related legislation for 2006 enters into force on April 6.

The main changes brought by the legislation are:

• The removal of the partly unmeasured working time exemption under the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2006.
• Amendments to the TUPE rules under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006.
• New obligations for employers to undertake consultation before making changes to occupational and personal pension schemes under the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Consultation by Employers and Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2006 (this duty will initially apply only to those businesses employing over 150 employees).
• Minor amendments to the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 under the Information and Consultation of Employees (Amendment) Regulations 2006 to remove the overlap created by new pension consultation regulations.
• April 6 will also see the introduction of a revised Code of Practice on racial equality in employment which aims to give practical guidance to employers on how to meet their obligations under the Race Relations Act.

www.incomesdata.co.uk

Small firms are so confused by mounting employment legislation that the number of calls to a free legal helpline on employment issues has rocketed.

Calls to the helpline, run by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), rose by almost 30 per cent to 70,943 last year, the equivalent of more than 289 each working day.

The biggest rise in calls was over issues involving dismissals.

Sandy Harris, member services chairman at the FSB, said: “There are at least 26 Acts of Parliament on employment issues and it is tough for small firms to deal with all their requirements, as these figures show.

“Our members want to protect their staff, their most important asset. They need assistance from the Government to do that by simplifying the rules and reducing the burden of compliance.

“We do not want to repeal or reduce all legal safeguards for employees. But without a simplification of employment law small firms’ growth will continue to be stifled. If the Government wishes to achieve its aims for future economic prosperity then it should take its foot off the pedal on employment legislation.”

Trade and Industry Secretary Alan Johnson last week announced a review of discrimination, redundancy payment and dispute resolution laws in an attempt to cut compliance costs and complexity.

A high profile sex-discrimination case brought against the investment bank Nomura by ex-employee Andrea Madarassy has become mired in a dispute over whether the latter was tipped off about the company’s legal strategy in the case.

Ms Madarassy brought a case alleging sex discrimination, unfair dismissal and victimisation by Nomura following the birth of her third child, but the employment tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal found largely in favour of the the bank. In 2005, Ms Madarassy, now backed by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), won the right to take her case to the Court of Appeal.

On April 3, however, the Court of Appeal heard allegations that Ms Madrassy had met a former legal adviser to Nomura and discussed the case. As a result of these allegations, Nomura is asking the court to strike out Ms Madarassy’s claims due to abuse of process or to grant an order restraining the EOC from representing or assisting the claimant.

Lawyers for Ms Madarassy argue that she was unrepresented at the time of the meeting, a meeting disclosed by herself, and did not know that there was anything improper in the meeting with Gillian Howard. Mrs Howard denies that the meeting took place and maintains that she was on holiday at the time of the alleged meeting.

Financial Times, April 4, 2006

An office worker who claims that she was made redundant because she was in an arranged marriage has filed a claim for unfair dismissal.

Ayesha Sheika, 21, said she was made redundant from accountancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward a year after marrying a man from Pakistan whom she had never met before.

Mrs Sheika claims that an offer to pay for accountancy training was withdrawn on account of her marriage.

In papers presented to a central London employment tribunal, Mrs Sheika said: “[The manager] was concerned my husband’s arrival would interfere with
my training.”

BDO fiercely denies the allegations and says that it has begun an internal inquiry. A spokeswoman said: “We are not able to go into any more details until the investigation is finished, but at this stage we absolutely deny the allegations.”

Mrs Sheika’s solicitor, Richard Leong of the London Discrimination Unit, said that

Mrs Sheika was the only one of 120 department staff to be made redundant and someone was now working in her role.

Mrs Sheika claims unfair dismissal, race discrimination and discrimination on the grounds of religious belief.

BBC News, April 3, 2006

A growing number of mothers are choosing to stay at home with their children rather than work, new research suggests.

Fifty three per cent of non-working mothers surveyed by the Department for Work and Pensions said that they chose not to work in order to spend more time with their children – an increase of five per cent since 2003.

Similarly, of those mothers who worked only part time, sixty four per cent said that a desire to spend more time with their children prevented them from working longer hours.

One in seven stay-at-home mothers and one in seven mothers who worked only part time said that childcare costs influenced their working patterns – increases of 5 and 7 per cent respectively on 2003.

Single mothers were twice as likely to cite childcare expenses as a deterrent to taking up employment.

Anna Lines of the Full Time Mothers group said that the results of the survey were unsurprising.

“For working mothers of very young children, substitutes are never quite the same and not necessarily what people want,” she said.

Daily Telegraph, April 10, 2005

Black and Asian women are more likely to be unemployed, have more problems finding a suitable job, and, when they do find work, often have to settle for a job for which they are over-qualified, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) report ‘Black Women and Employment’.

The report, published to coincide with the TUC Black Workers Conference, says that the unemployment rate among black women is, at 5.4 per cent, almost twice that among white women (2.9 per cent), and is only slightly lower among Asian women (4.8 per cent). Official figures also show that 9.4 per cent of black women and 8.3 per cent of Asian women, compared to just 5.7 per cent of white women, are on fixed-term contracts or working as temps.

Referring to recent Equal Opportunities Commission research, the report notes that 56 per cent of Pakistani women, 54 per cent of black Caribbean women and 49 per cent of Bangladeshi women aged 16-34 said that they often found it difficult to find employment. Only 34 per cent of white British women said that finding work was sometimes a problem. Of the same young women who struggled to find work, 22 per cent of Pakistani women had accepted jobs for which they were over-qualified; this compares to only 6 per cent of white British women.

The research also found differences in employer attitudes when interviewing: 21 per cent of Bangladeshi women, 24 per cent of black Caribbean and 26 per cent of Pakistani women had been asked in job interviews about their plans to get married or have children, compared to just 14 per cent of white British women.

To help fight this inequality the TUC recommends that trade union representatives be given a statutory right to take time off to concentrate on making UK workplaces fairer, that minority women be given greater access to training opportunities and help with finding affordable childcare, and that the Government make greater use of positive public-procurement policies.

Copies of the report are available from: www.tuc.org.uk/extras/bwae.pdf

TUC press release, April 7, 2006

Black and Asian women are more likely to be unemployed, have more problems finding a suitable job, and, when they do find work, often have to settle for a job for which they are over-qualified, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) report ‘Black Women and Employment’.

The report, published to coincide with the TUC Black Workers Conference, says that the unemployment rate among black women is, at 5.4 per cent, almost twice that among white women (2.9 per cent), and is only slightly lower among Asian women (4.8 per cent). Official figures also show that 9.4 per cent of black women and 8.3 per cent of Asian women, compared to just 5.7 per cent of white women, are on fixed-term contracts or working as temps.

Referring to recent Equal Opportunities Commission research, the report notes that 56 per cent of Pakistani women, 54 per cent of black Caribbean women and 49 per cent of Bangladeshi women aged 16-34 said that they often found it difficult to find employment. Only 34 per cent of white British women said that finding work was sometimes a problem. Of the same young women who struggled to find work, 22 per cent of Pakistani women had accepted jobs for which they were over-qualified; this compares to only 6 per cent of white British women.

The research also found differences in employer attitudes when interviewing: 21 per cent of Bangladeshi women, 24 per cent of black Caribbean and 26 per cent of Pakistani women had been asked in job interviews about their plans to get married or have children, compared to just 14 per cent of white British women.

To help fight this inequality the TUC recommends that trade union representatives be given a statutory right to take time off to concentrate on making UK workplaces fairer, that minority women be given greater access to training opportunities and help with finding affordable childcare, and that the Government make greater use of positive public-procurement policies.

Copies of the report are available from: www.tuc.org.uk/extras/bwae.pdf

TUC press release, April 7, 2006