Equality Commission for Northern Ireland

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Equality Commission for Northern Ireland

• Overview of equality legislation in Northern
  Ireland and implications for further higher
  education
• South West Regional College June 2009
• Mary McSorley

www.equalityni.org
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Overview of session

• Role services of ECNI
• Key inequalities in N Ireland
• Summary of anti-discrimination law that applies
  to FHE
• Brief overview of s75 equality and good relations
  duties on public authorities
• Overview of DDA disability duties
• Implications for staff working in FHE

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Key inequalities in N Ireland?

• Persistent inequalities still exist in
• Employment
• Education
• Health Social Care
• Housing Communities
• Participation in public life
• Prejudice
• (ref ECNI statement on Key inequalities in N
  Ireland, Oct 2007)

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Anti-discrimination law

• Sex Discrimination Order (sex, gender
  reassignment, marital status) 1976 (as amended)
  and Equal Pay Act 1970 (as amended)
• Fair Employment Treatment Order (religious
  belief/ political opinion) 1998 (original legis
  1976)
• Race Relations Order (includes colour,
  nationality, Irish Travellers) 1997 (as amended)
• Disability Discrimination Act 1995, as amended
  (including SENDO 2005)
• Sexual Orientation Regulations 2003/2006
• Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006
• (apply to employment and vocational training)

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What does the law cover?

• College as an employer or training provider
• College as an education establishment
• College as a service provider (goods, facilities
  and services) - except for Age

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Employment provisions (also apply to training
provision)

• Recruitment selection
• Terms conditions
• Promotion, transfer training
• Access to benefits
• Redundancy
• Harassment
• After the working or training relationship has
  ended (eg provision of references)

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Goods, facilities services

• Where services are provided to the public or a
  section of the public unlawful to discriminate
  on any of the protected grounds (religion,
  gender, disability, etc) by
• Refusing or deliberately omitting to provide
  service to a group or person
• Refusing or deliberately omitting to provide
  service of same quality, in same manner or on
  same terms

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Fair Employment Treatment Order 1998, as
amended (original legislation employment only)

• Unlawful to discriminate on grounds of religious
  belief or political opinion in
• Employment (original legislation 1976)
• Provision of goods, facilities, services
• Sale and letting of land or premises
• Further and higher education
• Partnerships and barristers

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FETO duties on employers

• Register - 11 or more full time employees
• Monitor - employees applicants
• Review - every 3 years (composition of workforce,
  recruitment, training promotion practices) to
  ensure fair participation
• Affirmative action (if required)
• Set goals and timetables

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Race Relations (NI) Order 1997(as amended)

• Unlawful to discriminate on racial grounds
• Covers colour, race, nationality (inc
  citizenship), and ethnic or national origins
• Irish travellers specified as racial group
• Applies to employment, provision of goods,
  facilities and services, education, training,
  housing and advertising
• Some 2003 amendments do NOT apply to colour
  and nationality

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Sex Discrimination (NI) Order 1976 (as amended)

• Discrimination unlawful on the basis of a
  persons sex (or marital status/civil partner
  status employment)
• Covers Employment Goods, Facilities and
  Services Education Training Housing
• Includes Advertising Pregnancy and maternity
  rights Sexual harassment
• Gender reassignment also protected in employment
  and vocational training (since 1999) and in
  provision of goods, facilities services (2008)

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Equal Pay Act (NI) 1970(as amended)

• Employers are required to give equal treatment in
  pay and conditions of employment to men and women
  where they are doing
• The same or broadly similar work
• Doing jobs which have been rated equivalent under
  a job evaluation scheme
• Doing work of equal value

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Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation
Regulations) 2003

• Unlawful to discriminate on grounds of sexual
  orientation (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or
  heterosexual)
• Applies only to Employment and Vocational
  training (including further and higher education)
  - separate law for gfs
• Genuine Occupational Requirements may apply in
  limited circumstances
• Note Civil Partnership Act 2004 required
  amendments
• to this law

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Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations
(NI) 2006

• Unlawful to discriminate on grounds of sexual
  orientation in the provision of goods,
  facilities, services, premises, education
  public functions
• Exemption for religious organisations where the
  sole purpose is to practice or advance a religion
  or belief

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Disability Discrimination Act 1995(as amended)

• The Act gives disabled people rights in relation
  to
• Employment
• Access to goods, facilities and services
• Buying or renting land or property
• Education (since 1 Sept 2005)
• DDA further amended by DDO 2006 provisions
  being implemented in stages from Jan 2007
• Transport Regulations expected later 2009

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Special Educational Needs Disability Order (NI)
2005 (amended 2006 re FHE)

• Duties on bodies responsible for the provision of
  education and associated services
• Not to treat disabled students and prospective
  students (and former students of FHE in some
  circumstances) less favourably for a reason
  related to their disability.
• To make reasonable adjustments to all policies,
  procedures and practices to ensure that a
  disabled student is not placed at a substantial
  disadvantage.
• To work towards making college life or the
  education experience more accessible to disabled
  students and prospective students.

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Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (NI) 2006

• Unlawful to discriminate on grounds of age in
  employment and vocational training (including
  further higher education)
• Applies to all ages and all sizes of
  employer/training provider
• Exceptions/exemptions apply
• NOTE does not apply to gfs

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Positive action/genuine occupational requirements
(GOR)

• Positive action to address imbalances is
  permitted under the legislation on gender, race,
  disability, sexual orientation and age
• GOR it can be lawful to confine recruitment to
  a job or course to a particular group but
  exclusion of other groups must be justifiable

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Main types of discrimination

• Direct discrimination
• Indirect discrimination
• Harassment
• Victimisation
• Pregnancy discrimination
• Failure to make reasonable adjustment (for a
  disabled person/student)

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Direct discrimination

• Less favourable treatment on grounds of
• religious belief/political opinion
• sex (or marital/civil partnership status
  employment only or gender reassignment)
• Pregnancy (explicitly covered since 2005)
• Sexual orientation
• Race (including being an Irish Traveller)
• Disability (including failure to make reasonable
  adjustment)
• Age (since October 2006) employment only

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Indirect discrimination

• Applying a provision, criterion or practice
  which, while applied equally, disadvantages a
  person on a particular ground and which cannot be
  justified
• No concept of indirect discrimination in
  Disability legislation
• Indirect discrimination can be justified if it is
  a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate
  aim
• Institutional discrimination result of
  traditional policies and practices that are not
  equality proofed cant be justified

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Indirect discrimination - examples

• Physical requirement - height, age
• Language requirements
• Requirement to work or study full-time
• Qualifications, experience
• Mobility/flexibility
• Internal trawls
• Residency requirements

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Harassment

• Unwanted conduct on grounds of sexual
  orientation, race, religious belief or political
  opinion, disability, sex or age which has the
  purpose or effect of violating a persons dignity
  or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading,
  humiliating or offensive environment.
• This definition applies to employment and to
  education and service provision in some
  circumstances.

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Victimisation

• Less favourable treatment due to
• Asserting rights under equality legislation
• Helping someone else to assert rights
• Alleging that someone has contravened equality
  legislation

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Reasonable adjustments

• Anticipatory duty to make adjustments to ensure
  disabled people can access work, services,
  education, etc
• Change policies, practices and procedures
• Provide auxiliary aids services
• Remove or alter physical barriers or provide
  service in different way

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S75 equality and good relations duties- Northern
Ireland Act 1998 (1)

• Section 75 (1)
• A public authority in carrying out its
  functions in relation to NI shall have due regard
  to the need to promote equality of opportunity
• between
• persons of different religious belief, political
  opinion, racial group, age, marital status or
  sexual orientation
• men and women generally
• persons with disability and without
• persons with dependants and without

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Section 75 equality good relations duties (2)

• Public authorities are also required
• to have regard to the desirability of promoting
  good relations between persons of different
  religious belief, political opinion or racial
  group.
• commonly referred to as the good relations
  duty

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Aim of s75

• To put equality and good relations at the heart
  of public authorities policy and decision making
  mainstreaming
• To go beyond avoidance of discrimination to
  positive promotion of equality
• Anticipatory duty to address identified
  inequalities

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What does s75 involve?

• Equality schemes
• Equality impact assessment of policies
• Consultation with affected groups and service
  users
• Mitigation of adverse impact of policies
• Annual reports to ECNI, 5 year reviews, ongoing
  monitoring of outcomes

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Equality impact assessment

• Requires public authorities to screen policies
  for possible impact on equality of opportunity
• If screened in, must equality impact assess
  policy or proposed policy for any adverse impact
• If possible adverse impact identified, take steps
  to mitigate or change policy
• Consult with users/affected groups on EQIAs and
  publicise results of consultation (Note need for
  consultation to be effective and to inform
  policies/planning)

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Review of effectiveness of s75 equality good
relations duties (report Nov 2008)

• Impacts on policy
• Impacts on individuals
• Measuring impacts and outcomes
• Key findings/recommendations more focus in
  future schemes on action plans to achieve
  desired outcomes effective consultation link to
  business planning and other improvement programmes

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DDA Disability duties

• Since Jan 2007, public authorities (including
  FHE colleges) have duties to
• Promote positive attitudes towards disabled
  people
• Encourage participation by disabled people in
  public life
• - in addition to existing duties under
• the DDA, SENDO s75

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What is public life?

• Broad term which includes, for example,
  government public appointments, consultative or
  working groups which support a public bodys
  work, Boards of governors, etc
• Political life
• Initiatives which engage disabled people in
  decision making

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Why the DDA duties are important

• Disabled people under-represented in many aspects
  of public life
• Need to address negative attitudes, behaviour
  based on prejudice, demeaning stereotypes
• Absence of positive images of disabled people
  lack of understanding
• Aim is to change the way some people think about
  and act towards disabled people and to ensure
  disabled people have a greater say in public
  decision making

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What do public bodies have to do?

• Produce a Disability action plan and submit to
  ECNI
• Annual report on progress
• Five year review
• Plans must include measures/actions to be
  undertaken, performance indicators and timescales
• Measures committed to must go beyond what
  organisations are already required to do under
  the DDA, eg, in terms of access and
  non-discrimination

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What can college staff do to help comply with s75
and DDA duties?

• Role for everyone in the organisation
• balance of corporate and individual actions
• Become familiar with College equality scheme and
  disability action plan, good relations
  initiatives and equal opportunities policies
• Consider how best to contribute within own sphere
  of work/expertise
• Know the law and the issues affecting the
  different groups
• Self awareness examine own attitudes,
  prejudice, stereotypes
• Challenge others negative attitudes or
• behaviour

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What can college staff do? (2)

• Consider equality awareness for students in
  course programmes (ECNI can provide input)
• Monitor take up of courses by all s75 categories
  how does your course profile contribute to
  overall College equality goals?
• Monitor by disability for DDA duties and ensure
  own courses contribute to Colleges disability
  action plan
• Explore reasons for non-participation by
  different groups (eg, is there a chill factor?)
  take action as necessary
• Ensure partnership initiatives pay attention to
  Colleges equality policies and goals
• Be aware of negative assumptions
• about any of the equality groups

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Monitoring for equality in course provision

• How is course promoted? To whom/what groups?
• What measures are taken to target groups who
  dont traditionally apply?
• Who is applying? Who is enrolling/being
  accepted? Any issues?
• Who is dropping out? Why? Any issues?
• Who is performing best/worst? Any trends or
  patterns to be investigated?
• Student feedback action taken?

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Importance of monitoring

• Not just about collecting data provides the
  basis for taking positive action to promote
  equality
• Required by the legislation onus on public
  authorities to put systems in place to collect
  relevant information and to use it to assess
  impact of policies on the promotion of equality
• All categories must be considered in developing
  monitoring arrangements
• Need to focus on achieving changes and outcomes
  based on sound information

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Importance of consultation

• Consultation leads to focus on users of service
• Consultation assists evidence based policy making
  provides opportunity for those affected to give
  their views.
• Consultation must be appropriate, eg, methods
  used
• Consultation is important part of any business
  improvement/customer service initiative

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Dealing with inappropriate behaviours

• Comply with organisational policies and enforce
  student conduct/disciplinary policies as
  necessary
• Be aware of own prejudices, etc, which can
  influence expectations and response
• Manage students behaviours towards each other
  and take action as appropriate
• Early intervention/prevention better than cure
• Remember individuals can be personally liable
  for complaints of harassment under the
  anti-discrimination legislation

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Suggested measures to promote equality (can apply
to any of the discrimination grounds)

• Develop links with relevant support
  groups/organisations
• Outreach measures to recruit under-represented
  groups
• Review internal support systems available and
  work closely with internal services
• Consult with existing students and potential
  students to identify barriers and problems
  student councils, consultative groups, course
  evaluation panels, etc, should reflect disability
  other s75 grounds
• Ensure representation in college and course
  literature, open days, information events, etc
• Promotional work with students, staff and other
  service providers or partners
• Make external organisations/clients aware of
  Colleges policies and equality goals

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Promoting equality requires

• Acknowledging unconscious prejudices and
  stereotypes racial, gender, disability,
  religious, sexual orientation, age
• Minimising risk of harassment/bullying and taking
  steps to deal with complaints if they arise
• Accommodating special needs disability,
  language, religious/cultural differences, gender,
  etc
• Equality proofing teaching materials and
  approaches and ensuring accessible and welcoming
  environment
• Avoiding language/behaviour which could be
  perceived as sexist, sectarian, homophobic, etc
• Setting high standards for access participation
• Integrating equality objectives into core
  business
• Challenging traditional policies and practices
  (minimising potential for indirect
  discrimination)
• Ongoing monitoring and review

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Further advice or information

• Equality Commissions enquiry line 90 890 890
  for free advice or training
• Website www.equalityni.org
• Advisory publications