There is a ‘significant risk’ that the reporting ethnicity pay levels could be ‘counterproductive’ unless key differences between it and gender pay are recognised, said the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) in its response to the UK Government’s consultation on ethnicity pay reporting. Although the IES supports the government’s proposals to introduce mandatory reporting of ethnicity pay gap information, it suggests that cultural and practical barriers to collecting and reporting ethnicity data are greater than for gender pay. More time and greater government support are therefore needed to prepare for these changes. The consultation response voices specific concerns that measures to increase the recruitment of under-represented groups, for example through apprenticeships or paid internships, could serve to widen pay gaps initially. This could inadvertently discourage employers from taking positive action to improve their ethnic diversity. Reporting arrangements therefore need to also take account of changes in the levels of employment participation for different ethnic minority groups, as well as their pay.

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Over half (52 percent) of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnics (BAME) believe that Brexit will negatively impact their career progression compared to only 16 percent of non-BAME. This is according to a new survey commissioned by the Equality Group, an organisation that helps companies attract, retain and develop diverse talent that focuses on diversity and equality within business. Following the referendum in 2016 and the UK’s consequent departure from the European Union, tensions surrounding ‘Britishness’ and what it means to be British reached unprecedented lengths. In May this year, experts from the United Nations expressed concerns regarding the fact that racism and religious intolerance has, in the wake of Brexit, become increasingly acceptable in Britain. Whilst it is possible to statistically monitor the rise in racially motivated hate crimes, of which there was a 40 percent rise (July 2015- 16) succeeding the UK’s decision to leave the EU, monitoring racial discrimination within businesses is a lot more difficult. With this societal and political shift, the report looks at the impact Brexit, with its focus on immigration and the rights to work within the UK, has had on the workers from the BAME community.

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The Government has agreed to work with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to introduce a statutory code of practice to tackle sexual harassment at work. It also agreed that non-disclosure agreements require better regulation and a clearer explanation of the rights that a worker cannot abrogate by signing one and will consult on how best to achieve this and enforce any new provisions. It also agrees that regulators should make it clear that workplace sexual harassment is unacceptable, and that sexual harassment should be taken into account when considering the fitness and propriety of the individuals and employers they regulate.

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