Equal opportunity is now a business buzz word. This is largely due to the growing number of harassment and discrimination cases being brought before the courts.
It’s also due to the fact that it’s the employers, not the perpetrators who are receiving the fines, because equal opportunity legislation puts the onus of responsibility squarely on the employer’s shoulders.
If a complaint of unlawful conduct is made against one of your employees and you have not taken what are considered to be reasonable steps to prevent such conduct occurring, the damages will most likely be awarded against you, not your employee.
So what can you do to minimise your risk? Compliance training is a good step in the right direction. It will help you pinpoint areas that may need addressing in your workplace culture and will ensure your staff are aware of what is considered appropriate workplace behaviour.
What are the equal opportunity laws?
Equal opportunity laws differ between states and territories, but most cover similar ground. On a Federal level, the laws governing equal opportunity are:
- the Sex Discrimination Act 1984
- the Racial Discrimination Act 1975
- the Age Discrimination Act 2004
- the Disability Discrimination Act 1992
- the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986
What are the two main areas of equal opportunity legislation?
The two main areas of equal opportunity legislation are discrimination and harassment.
What is discrimination?
Discrimination occurs when an employer treats an employee unfairly because of their age, sex, race, religion, sexual persuasion, any disabilities they may have, trade union activity, marital status and so on. Unfair treatment includes actions such as terminating their employment, failing to train or promote them, failing to employ them in the first place, providing unfair working conditions and the like.
What is harassment?
Harassment includes workplace harassment and sexual harassment. Workplace harassment is repeated unwelcome behaviour that is offensive, threatening, intimidation or humiliating. Sexual harassment is intimidating or coercive behaviour of a sexual nature or the unwelcome promise of rewards for sexual favours.
What are the responsibilities of an equal opportunity employer?
‘Vicarious liability’ means that you, as an employer, bear the responsibility if one of your employees harasses or discriminates against another employee, unless you are able to show that you have taken reasonable action to prevent such a thing happening.
Reasonable action includes actively monitoring your own workplace culture, having equal opportunity policies and procedures in place, educating your employees about their responsibilities and having an adequate system for dealing with complaints.
The financial penalties for contravening equal opportunity laws can be substantial for employers, so compliance training as part of a learning management system makes good business sense.
What are the benefits of being an equal opportunity employer?
There are also advantages to promoting equal opportunity in the workplace. Some organisations are now actively pursuing a diverse workforce because of the competitive advantages it can offer through new attitudes, problem solving methods, language skills, work ethics and identification with an increasingly diverse marketplace.
So next time you write ‘Equal Opportunity Employer’ on a recruitment ad for your business, make sure you mean it. It could be to your advantage and it can certainly be to your disadvantage if you don’t.
