Question: Can employees claim harassment if offensive jokes are not directed specifically at them?
Answer: An employee who is offended by jokes or office banter about sex, race, sexuality, religion or age can claim harassment, even if the jokes or banter were not directed at them. It is irrelevant whether or not the perpetrator meant to cause offence - it is the employee's individual perspective that matters. Employers are liable for harassment by their employees at work and at work-related events off site (eg an office party or team building event). However, employers can defend claims if they did all they reasonably could to prevent employees from harassing their colleagues, for example by having an effective equal opportunities policy that is consistently enforced and in which all employees are trained.
Question: As Christmas is considered a Christian festival, can an employer still hold a Christmas party if some of its employees belong to a different religion?
Answer:It is unlikely that an employment tribunal would be willing to decide that the holding of a Christmas party in itself constitutes religious discrimination against any non-Christians contrary to the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003. This is because Christmas parties are not really about celebrating religion. Rather they are about improving staff morale and loyalty and thanking employees for all their hard work and efforts over the previous year. That said, there is currently no case law on this point and it is possible that a non-Christian employee might well argue that the office Christmas party discriminates against him or her because the employee's own religious festival is not also celebrated by the employer
In any event, employers must be careful to take the different religions into account when planning the date, location, theme and catering for their Christmas party. For example, an alcohol-fuelled party in a local pub could well offend Muslims whose religion forbids association with alcohol. Friday nights cause problems for Orthodox Jewish employees, because they have to be home an hour before dusk for the start of their Sabbath. Employers should therefore review the proposed arrangements for their Christmas parties and identify areas where staff from different religions might be disadvantaged and then consider how those arrangements could be changed to overcome those disadvantages. Issues to consider include: whether the venue is suitable and the date acceptable; whether any theme is likely to cause offence to anyone; whether a choice of non-alcoholic drinks will be provided; and whether the menu gives sufficient choice and includes vegetarian options to accommodate particular dietary requirements
Question: Is it wrong to refer to a disabled candidate's disability during an interview?
Answer: The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 does not prevent interviewers from asking disabled job applicants questions about their disability. Although an interviewer must avoid making any negative assumptions about a person's suitability for the job, the interviewer may ask questions to establish whether the applicant could, if recruited, fulfil the requirements of the job effectively and safely and establish if any adjustments to working practices and premises would be necessary if he or she were successful in his or her application.
Question: Is Sir Alan Sugar 'allowed' to ask his apprentice about childcare arrangements during the interview process?
Answer: Employers should avoid asking about a candidate's: marital status or marriage plans; children and childcare arrangements; general family commitments; partner's occupation and mobility; and actual or potential absences from work for family reasons.
Such questions tend to be viewed by employment tribunals as discriminatory against women because they assume that childcare and other family commitments may have a negative impact on a woman's motivation, commitment to the job, attendance or availability to work overtime. Because such discriminatory assumptions would not be likely to be made about male candidates, questions of this nature are viewed as discriminatory on the grounds of sex. Questions should objectively relate to the job requirements and should be asked of all candidates. For example, if they would be OK with travelling away from home or performing regular overtime.
Excepts taken from xperthr.com.
