According to a recent survey, a third of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) employees reported that they had been asked to westernise their name by a manager.
Race discrimination in the workplace
Background
Race is one of nine protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act 2010. This renders it unlawful for an employer to:
- Treat an employee less favourably than others because of race;
- Apply a provision, criterion or practice that disadvantages employees of a particular racial group without objective justification;
- Subject an employee to harassment related to race; or
- Victimise an employee because they have or intend to make a race discrimination complaint.
In recent years, several initiatives have been announced with the aim of addressing racial inequality in the workplace. For example, the Equality and Human Rights Commission published a strategy to reduce ethnicity pay gaps, reviews have taken place into increasing career progression for those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and various reports have been published setting out recommendations for employers in order to tackle discrimination and harassment on the grounds of race.
In light of this, it is disappointing to hear that employees are still being subject to unlawful race discrimination in the workplace.
Race discrimination survey – comment
According to the recent survey, three out of five workers commented that they felt their career would suffer if they did not westernise their name. Additionally, 28% of those that did use a western work name felt they were offered more roles, and 27% said they were invited to more interviews.
Survey respondents commented that they adapted other aspects of their identity in addition to their name in order to ‘fit in’. This included changing their appearance, what they ate and adhering to other religious or cultural practices.
Employers must be mindful of the protections afforded to employees under the Equality Act 2010. It is strongly advisable for companies to have a robust equal opportunities policy in place, ensure that employees’ attention is drawn to this and that adequate training is in place to remind employees of their obligations with regards equal opportunities.
How Nelsons Can Help
For further information or to comment on this article, please contact our Employment Law team on 0800 0241 976 or via our online form.