http://www.equality-ne.co.uk Equality North East is a comprehensive website offering fact sheets, a search facility, news items, best practice information relating to race, gender, disability and work-life balance. Mon, 20 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT http://www.equality-ne.co.uk/news/articles/12072 Nick Clegg has warned against attempts to "hijack" proposals to legalise same-sex marriage in England and Wales ahead of key votes in the House of Commons. Tory critics have tabled an amendment saying heterosexual couples should be allowed to have civil partnerships, if gay couples are allowed to get married. Ministers say the move, which Labour may back, would delay the whole bill. Mr Clegg said he backed extending civil partnerships in principle but would not allow the bill to be "derailed". Full story.... http://www.equality-ne.co.uk/news/articles/12071 Training providers and colleges are being encouraged to consider taking on more disabled people as apprentices. The Learning and Skills improvement Service (LSIS) is funding two free workshops to explore how Apprenticeship providers and supported employment providers can work together to significantly increase the number of disabled learners enrolling on programmes. Provided in collaboration with Remploy Employment Services, the UK’s leading provider of specialist employment support for disabled and disadvantaged people, the workshops will tackle the issues that may deter employers and colleges from recruiting disabled people to Apprenticeships. Full story.... http://www.equality-ne.co.uk/news/articles/12070 A police officer who claimed he was moved by his bosses to "a punishment posting" 28 miles from his home after raising concerns about "inconsistent, dangerous or illegal practices" at a force’s driver training unit has abandoned his case at an Employment Tribunal. Andy Holman claimed he was he was bullied and humiliated by his bosses at Humberside Police after informing them of alleged safety shortcuts at the unit training officers in skills including high-speed pursuits. The Police Constable, from Hull, told an Employment Tribunal that he was transferred to a posting in Bridlington, the most remote of all the force’s stations, but Humberside Police disputed the claims, saying that they moved him after he was caught on a motorbike with a badly damaged tyre that could have caused an accident for the second time in 16 months. Full story.... http://www.equality-ne.co.uk/news/articles/12069 PinkNews.co.uk has learnt that the government intends to review the future of civil partnerships exactly five years from the point when the same-sex marriage bill comes into law, with Culture Secretary Maria Miller saying a "proper review will allow us to look at the issues". The review has been tabled by the government as an amendment to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, which will reach its report stage in the House of Commons next week. A spokesperson at the Department for Culture, Media & Sport confirmed to PinkNews.co.uk on Thursday evening that a review on civil partnerships would take place exactly five years from the point when the same-sex marriage bill comes into law for England and Wales. Full story..... http://www.equality-ne.co.uk/news/articles/12068 Defence Secretary Philip Hammond says Downing Street should not focus its efforts on equal marriage. Mr Hammond first went public about his opposition to the measure in May of last year when he said equal marriage was "too controversial". Speaking on the BBC’s Question Time on Thursday evening, he said: "This change does redefine marriage. For millions and millions of people who are married, the meaning of marriage changes. There is a real sense of anger among many people who are married that any government thinks it has the ability to change the definition of an institution like marriage." Full story.... http://www.equality-ne.co.uk/news/articles/12067 Britain’s charities have an appalling record of recruiting and promoting ethnic minority staff to senior roles, the former head of the NSPCC has warned. This leads to the perpetuation of a white, male, middle-class leadership. In an interview with The Independent Dame Mary Marsh, who has conducted a Government review into skills and leadership in the voluntary sector, said that too many charities were still using informal internships to recruit new young staff, rather than formal recruitment processes. She warned that this had created a situation where charities had become overly middle-class and unrepresentative of the communities they served. She called for a new charity-wide recruitment strategy, modelled on Teach First – the Government’s successful strategy to widen participation in teaching. Full story.... http://www.equality-ne.co.uk/news/articles/12066 Diversity continues to remain something of a luxury for some organisations at a time when companies have been very focused on critical change, restructuring and compliance and reward matters. As a consequence, building a diversity and inclusion team has not always been as high on the agenda as it could be for some of those firms currently. Where’s the demand? While diversity may not be as high a priority as it could be with some, demand for diversity professionals is still significant - and growing steadily. There are now a number of very strong heads of diversity in place in many of the UK’s leading corporates with a real remit to build diversity and inclusion teams. Recently we have found that this is especially evident within the financial and professional services sectors. For example, within a partnership environment we often find that a partner has been assigned with overall responsibility for diversity and inclusion and that the necessary budgets have been allocated to build those teams. Full story..... http://www.equality-ne.co.uk/news/articles/12065 As the Government’s consultation on the administration of shared parental leave draws to a close, the CIPD has reiterated its support for the proposals but has highlighted some technicalities that will require close attention to ensure the new system is beneficial to employers and employees alike. Mike Emmott, employee relations adviser at the CIPD, said: "By giving men and women similar entitlements to leave following the birth of a child, mums and dads will have more choice over how they manage and balance their caring responsibilities between them, which will support female participation and progression in the labour market. "What’s more, employers will benefit by increasing their ability to maintain a more diverse workforce and retain the skills and knowledge women bring to the workplace." Full story..... http://www.equality-ne.co.uk/news/articles/12064 The rate of female appointments to FTSE100 boards has slowed drastically this year, figures have revealed. Only 12% of directors appointed in the two months to May were women, down from the 50% rate seen a year ago. This means just four of the 34 new directors were female. The figures published by The Professional Boards Forum BoardWatch found another 84 more board seats held by women are needed to reach the 25% target set by Lord Davies in 2011. The figures also showed the proportion of women on FTSE100 boards has been stuck at 17.4% since August, after rising from 12.5% in 2010. There are still five companies with all-male boards: Antofagasta, Croda, Glencore Xstrata, Melrose and
Vedanta Resources. Full story.... http://www.equality-ne.co.uk/news/articles/12063 CIPD responds to government consultation on the administration of Shared Parental Leave As the Government’s consultation on the administration of Shared Parental Leave draws to a close, the CIPD has reiterated its support for the proposals but highlighted some technicalities that will require close attention to ensure the new system is beneficial to employers and employees alike. The CIPD has long supported the move towards a more equal sharing of childcare responsibilities between working mothers and fathers. Mike Emmott, employee relations adviser at the CIPD, comments: "By giving men and women similar entitlements to leave following the birth of a child, mums and dads will have more choice over how they manage and balance their caring responsibilities between them, which will support female participation and progression in the labour market. What’s more, employers will benefit by increasing their ability to maintain a more diverse workforce and retain the skills and knowledge women bring to the workplace." Full story.... http://www.equality-ne.co.uk/news/articles/12062 The number of people working from home has increased by 13 per cent in the last five years, according to a new TUC analysis of official figures published today (Friday) to mark National Work From Home Day, organised by WorkWise UK. The TUC analysis of unpublished data from the Labour Force Survey shows that just over four million employees usually worked at home in 2012, a rise of 470,000 since 2007. The South East, Scotland and Wales have seen the sharpest rise in homeworking over the last five years. While nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of people who work from home are male, an increasing number of women are also making this career move. According to the research, the majority of homeworking jobs created in the last five years have gone to women. The rise in female homeworking is partly due to the fact that almost nine in ten (86.8 per cent) of these new jobs are part-time, says the TUC. In addition to the four million people who usually work from home, many millions more occasionally work from home, says the TUC. Full story... http://www.equality-ne.co.uk/news/articles/12061 According to Cognitive Neuroscientist and Business Improvement Strategist, Dr Lynda Shaw, discrimination and short-sightedness is at the root of a growing army of unemployed over 50s at a time when she says the mature workforce need more income. Dr Shaw states: "We all know that experience comes with age, but in business, experience is often put to one side because of implied associated higher costs. It is a rather short sighted business model. "The problem is compounded by the fact that we are living longer, therefore we need to work longer to pay for our longevity. If we are not being allowed to work as long as we want and are able, there will be serious financial implications globally." Full story.... http://www.equality-ne.co.uk/news/articles/12060 Mental health charity Together and the NHS Business Services Authority are among the 20 NHS Equality and Diversity Partners announced today by NHS Employers. Their inclusion represents the first time a mental health charity and national body have been involved in the programme. The Partners were selected by the NHS Employers organisation to contribute to its programme of work on equality and diversity and will help spread good practice, learning and expertise throughout the NHS for the benefit of staff and patients. The announcement reflects the Partner programme’s goal to put an even greater focus on equality issues within the NHS in 2013/14, recognising its great diversity but also understanding how personal wellbeing and major change in the NHS can affect different groups in different ways. Full story..... http://www.equality-ne.co.uk/news/articles/12059 A Christian telesales worker has told an employment tribunal that being required to lie to potential customers to make sales was against his beliefs. The tribunal heard how the claimant, who was employed at a telecommunications company, objected to being required to deceive potential customers in order to obtain sales. He told the tribunal that such a process was against his religious beliefs and he was therefore protected by the Equality Act 2010. However, the tribunal rejected his claim. The claimant said he was told during his training to "be creative" when talking to "gatekeepers" such as secretaries and PAs, and he noted that during the training he felt that "at the end of the first day he thought he would end up in an employment tribunal". He also made a note that the trainer had advised him "to lie". Full story.... http://www.equality-ne.co.uk/news/articles/12058 The week is designed to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the economy. Gateshead College has a week packed with activities for anyone who is interested in becoming apprentice. Those who attend will have the chance to meet some apprentices and their tutors, learn about different industries and tour their facilities. Click below for a timetable of sessions.