HR tip: Lawful discrimination

HRD & Payroll Solutions continues to bring HRZone.co.uk members a range of HR and payroll tips in 2007. A market leader in the provision of HR and Payroll training and nationally recognised professional qualifications, HRD & Payroll Solutions are highly experienced in teaching about common HR and payroll problems. A wide selection of tips, tricks and guidance can be seen below. HRZone.co.uk highly recommends that any tips are taken as a starting point for guidance only.

Question:
"We have a large number of Pakistanis in our workforce but no Pakistani supervisors, although we believe that some of them could perform well in that role if they were given training. Will we be breaking the law if we run a training course just for Pakistanis with supervisor potential?"

HR tip:
Your motivation is good, but take great care. First make known to everyone what you are doing and why. Then advertise for candidates for supervisor training and encourage your Pakistani workforce to apply. By all means talk to the ones you have identified as having potential and explain to them the benefits of applying.

However, if you then have to select a limited number from a pool of applicants, be sure to apply the same criteria to them all, having made any necessary allowance for ethnic disadvantage such as use of English. You may encourage poorly represented groups, but not restrict opportunities to them.

Previous HR and Payroll tips:

January 2008
Reducing company car standard
The disappearing employee
Pre-employment medicals
Monitoring bullying
Controlling absence

2007 tips

2006 tips

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