Complying with Equality and Diversity Law in Applicant Selection

This assignment examines the critical aspects of complying with equality and diversity laws in the process of selecting applicants. It emphasizes the importance of equality of opportunity and the need to avoid stereotyping. The document explores the Equality Act and its protections against discrimination, particularly for zero-hour workers, covering various characteristics such as age, gender, and sexual orientation. It highlights the significance of adopting equal opportunity policies and training staff to ensure compliance. Furthermore, the assignment provides examples of companies like British Airways that embrace diversity and inclusion. It also details the rights of new employees on zero-hour contracts, including statutory benefits, minimum wage, and protection against discrimination, with examples like McDonald's. References to relevant books, journals, and online resources are also provided.

HOW WILL YOU COMPLY WITH
EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY LAW WHEN
SELECTING APPLICANTS? WHAT RIGHT
WILL YOUR

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................1
Compliance with Equality and Diversity law during selection of applicants.............................1
Rights of new employees............................................................................................................1
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................3

TASK 4
Compliance with Equality and Diversity law during selection of applicants
Diversity and equality is very important with context to key organizational areas such as
selecting applicants. Equality of opportunity seems very complex area and employers and
recruiters through a defensive and legal compliance position. Diversity undertakes positive and
wider outlook and there is still requirement for ensuring stereotyping play with absence of part in
selection and recruitment process. In this perspective there are numerous aspects for integrating
diversity and equality values with this process of selection by being aware about unconscious
bias with consideration of multiple measures to ensure applicants for zero hour workers.
(Chistyakova, Cole and Johnston, 2018).
The Equality Act has given protection against discrimination to each workers. The
employers must ensure about zero hour workers who are not treated in less favourable as they are
felt victimised due to multiple characteristics such as age, Gender reassignment, sex, religion,
Pregnancy or Maternity leave, Disability and sexual orientation. Furthermore, in this aspect
employers must ensure about adopting equal opportunities practices and policies throughout
business and to train staff with significance of equal opportunities and to undertake action or step
against disobedience (Equality and diversity in selection, 2018).
In his context, British Airways is the best example for diversity as it had attained
diversity from gender to ethnicity as they build inclusive environment with collaborative aspect
of working for accomplishing requirement of colleagues and customers throughout the world.
This had retained workforce which is highly diverse to represent its global brand (Diversity and
Inclusion in British Airways, 2018).
Rights of new employees
The rights of employee on basis of zero-hour contract are stated below:
 Statutory paternity or maternity pay and leave
 Minimum notice period
 Protection against unfair dismissal
 Statutory sick pay
 Statutory redundancy pay
 Time off emergencies engaging dependants
1

 Right to request for flexible working
 National minimum wage
 Right to work for nor more than 48 hours as on average per week
 Protection for whistle-blowing
 Statutory minimum amount of paid holiday
 Protection from unlawful discrimination (Bowl, 2018).
For example, McDonald's had offered fixed contract to approx. 115000 UK zero hour workers
(Graham Ruddick, 2018).
2

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bowl, M., 2018. Differentiation, distinction and equality–or diversity? The language of the
marketised university: an England, New Zealand comparison. Studies in Higher
Education. 43(4). pp.671-688.
Chistyakova, Y., Cole, B. and Johnston, J., 2018. Diversity and vulnerability in Prisons in the
context of the Equality Act 2010: the experiences of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic
(BAME) and Foreign National Prisoners (FNPs) in a Northern Jail. Prison Service Journal.
(235). pp.10-16.
ONLINE
Diversity and Inclusion in British Airways. 2018. [Online]. Available through
<https://careers.ba.com/diversity-and-inclusion-at-british-airways>.
Equality and diversity in selection. 2018. [Online]. Available through
<https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/hr/recruitment/selection/equality-and-diversity-in-selection>.
Graham Ruddick. 2018. McDonald’s offers fixed contracts to 115,000 UK zero-hours workers.
[Online]. Available through
<https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/25/mcdonalds-contracts-uk-zero-hours-
workers>.
3

4