ACCA Paper F1 - Accountant in Business, Course Notes, BPP 2010
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16.1
Syllabus Guide Detailed Outcomes
Having studied this chapter you will be able to:
• Understand the requirement of discrimination legislation.
• Appreciate the practical implications of the legislation.
• Understand the impact of diversity on organisations.
Exam Context
This topic features on the pilot paper in the context of recruitment advertising.
Qualification Context
In some respects this topic is allied to ethics and social responsibility of organisations.
Business Context
Discrimination and equal opportunities are topics of great importance for managers, relevant to all aspects of people
management.
Diversity and
equal opportunities
16: DIVERSITY AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
16.2
Overview
Diversity and equal opportunity
Equal opportunities Diversity
Discrimination
at work
Pay Practical implications
16: DIVERSITY AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
16.3
1 Discrimination at work
1.1 Legalisation exists to prevent discrimination on the basis of gender, race or disability.
1.2 Equal opportunities is an approach to the management of people at work based on equal
access and fair treatment.
1.3 This relates to all aspects of employment:
(a) Adverts
(b) Recruitment and selection
(c) Access to training
(d) Promotion
(e) Disciplinary procedures
(f) Redundancy and dismissal
Lecture example 1
Ideas generation
Required
How does equal opportunities benefit organisations?
Solution
1.4 The Equal Pay Act 1970/Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations 1984 states that men and
women have the right to equal pay for work of equal value (e.g. as determined by
evaluation). The Act covers all conditions and terms of employment, not just pay.
1.5 The Sex Discrimination Acts 1975 and 1986 prohibit discrimination on the ground of sex,
marital status and gender change. This applies to all areas identified above, but especially
to the selection process.
16: DIVERSITY AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
16.4
1.6 There are four types of discrimination covered by the legislation:
• Direct discrimination
• Indirect discrimination
• Victimisation
• Harassment
1.7 The Race Relations Acts 1976 and 1996 prohibit discrimination on the grounds of:
• Colour
• Race
• Nationality
• Ethnic or national origin
1.8 The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 provides that a conviction, other than one
involving imprisonment for more than 30 months, may become erased if the offender
commits no further serious offences during the rehabilitation period. This will vary according
to the age of the person convicted and the length of the sentence imposed.
1.9 The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 contains provisions for disabled access to
employment opportunities: interview, selection, training, promotion, dismissal. Disability is
defined as physical or mental impairment that has a substantial / long-term adverse effect
on ability to carry out normal activities.
1.10 The Employment Equality Regulations 2003 outlawed discrimination and harassment on
the grounds of sexual orientation and/or religious belief.
1.11 The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations came into effect in the UK in October 2006.
They prohibit unjustified age discrimination in employment and vocational training; support
later retirement; and remove the upper age limit for unfair dismissal (currently individuals
over 70 years of age cannot claim unfair dismissal).
2 The practical implications
2.1 Setting up an equal opportunities policy involves:
(a) Secure support from top management: create senior accountabilities
(b) Set up a representative working party to produce a Code of Practice
(c) Formulate action plans and allocate resources to publicise / implement policy
(d) Implement monitoring and review of minority staff entering / progressing / leaving
(e) Plan and implement positive action initiatives to facilitate minority access to
opportunities.
16: DIVERSITY AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
16.5
2.2 Some employers are doing more than the legal minimum by addressing the underlying
problems of discrimination. Positive action initiatives include:
(a) Flexible hours/part time working
(b) Career break or return to work schemes
(c) Putting equal opportunities higher on the agenda (eg appointing equal opportunity
manager)
(d) Fast tracking school leavers (as well as graduates)
(e) Training for women returnees
(f) Awareness training
(g) Counselling and disciplinary policies
(h) Positive action (to encourage applications from minorities)
3 Diversity
3.1 This concept goes further than just providing equal opportunities in the workforce. Diversity's
main thrust is to ensure, within a legally acceptable framework, the composition of the
workforce reflects the population as a whole. Here the rationale is that a diverse
organisation will both understand and meet its customer's needs better.
3.2 In order to reflect diversity managers need to ensure that organisational systems also
support diversity. For example:
(a) Recruitment and selection
(b) Education and training
(c) Career development
(d) Communications methods and channels
(e) Work/life balance
3.3 Diversity in the workplace means:
(a) Managing co-operative working in diverse teams
(b) Tolerance of individual differences
(c) Communicating effectively with an ethically diverse workforce
(d) Managing workers with diverse family structures and responsibilities
(e) Managing the adjustments to be made by an ageing workforce
(f) Managing diverse career paths and aspirations
(g) Confronting educational/qualification issues in an international workforce
16: DIVERSITY AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
16.6
3.4 The steps in implementing a 'diversity policy' are:
Step 1 Analyse your business environment
Step 2 Define diversity and its business benefits
Step 3 Introduce diversity policy into corporate strategy
Step 4 Embed diversity into core HR processes and system
Step 5 Ensure leaders implement policy
Step 6 Involve staff at all levels
Step 7 Communicate, communicate, communicate
Step 8 Understand your company's needs
Step 9 Evaluate
4 Chapter summary
• This chapter has outlined the range of legislation covering equal opportunities and
discrimination, with a comparison to the requirements for diversity.
16.7
Chapter 16: Questions
16: QUESTIONS
16.8
16.1 Which of the following is not an example of diversity in the workplace?
A Managing co-operative working in diverse teams
B Non acceptance of different family structures
C Communicating effectively with all employees
D Tolerance of individual differences (2 marks)
16.2 The Equal Pay Act states that men and women have the right to equal pay for work of unequal value.
True or false?
A True
B False (1 mark)
16.3 Which of the following is not an offence to discriminate against anyone on the basis of:
A Age
B Race
C Weight
D Disability (2 marks)
16.4 There are four types of discrimination covered by the Sex Discrimination Acts. Which of the following is
not covered?
A Direct discrimination
B Harassment
C Indirect discrimination
D Equal pay (2 marks)
16.5 Which of the following is not an example of positive action to address the problems of discrimination?
A Use of general recruitment advertising
B Return to work schemes
C Flexible hours
D Awareness training (2 marks)
16.9
Chapter 16: Answers
16: ANSWERS
16.10
16.1 B Diversity in the workplace ensures managers understand and accept the implications of diverse
family structures.
16.2 B The Equal Pay Act states that men and women have the right to equal pay for work of equal
value.
16.3 C Weight, unless it is extreme, when it might be covered by the disability discrimination legislation.
16.4 D Victimisation is the fourth type of discrimination. Equal pay is covered by different legislation.
16.5 A Positive action involves using specialist recruitment advertising that attracts minority applicants.
END OF CHAPTE
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