Diversity in the workplace
Author:
Layla Bunni
Migrant workers are considered a vital part of Ireland's continued economic success. They have added extra value to the Irish labour force, bringing with them skills and talents which have benefited the companies that they work for. The past decade has witnessed major changes in the size and composition of the workforce in Ireland. In December 2005, figures from the Central Statistics Office showed that 40,000 of the 96,000 new jobs created in the year to September 2005 went to migrant workers, mostly from the new EU states of central Europe. These new workers have been essential to the sustaining of growth, and whole areas of the economy. Construction, healthcare, horticulture and the hospitality industry in particular would be unable to function without them.
However, immigration brings with it, change and diversity that must be managed in order to avoid difficulties in the workplace, and potential liability towards employees. This requires preventing discrimination, treating all staff equally and fostering integration of both immigrants and nationals. Many Irish employers are still in the process of trying to get this right.
Employers need to ensure that they take positive steps to manage this increasing cultural diversity in the workplace. In particular they will need to ensure that they comply with the Employment Equality Acts 1998 and 2004 which implements into Irish law, the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of race, ethnic origin, religion, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, marital status and family status. In cases where it is determined that the employer has discriminated against an employee on any of the above grounds, the employer could be required to pay up to two years' salary to compensate the employee for the effects of the discrimination.
Employment policies, procedures and practices need to be reviewed or created by each employer to ensure that they accommodate diversity, and promote equality of opportunity, and that they meet the needs of all ethnic minority employees. Equal opportunity policies should be introduced by all employers, as this will show that there is a commitment to treating all employees fairly, and with dignity and respect. Additionally, practices should be put in place where communications are opened up between employers and their ethnic minority workforce to identify their workplace needs, and how best these needs can be met. Employers are not expected to go overboard in meeting these obligations. Only to do as much as is reasonably necessary to ensure that all employees are treated equally irrespective of nationality etc, and to ensure that all employees are made adhere to this principle.
It has been highlighted by the Labour Court, that many non-national workers encounter special difficulties in employment arising from a lack of knowledge of their rights, together with differences of language and culture. Given these special difficulties, applying the same procedural standards to non-national workers that would be applied to an Irish national could, in some circumstances, amount to discrimination, for example, a failure to allow employees time off to recognise their religious holidays, or a failure to ensure that all policies and procedures are properly communicated to all migrant workers in a language that they clearly understand or are fluent in.
The Central Statistics Office special survey on equality highlighted that people from ethnic minority backgrounds reported the highest rate of discrimination, with over 31 percent stating that they felt discriminated against in the past two years. In November 2005, 40 percent of the cases before the Equality Authority concerned race discrimination claims. Allegations of discrimination include issues of unequal pay, excessive working hours, lack of access to statutory leave entitlements, discriminatory dismissal and harassment.
The issue of migrant workers in Ireland recently came to the forefront in the Irish Ferries dispute which related to both the displacement of native labour and the exploitation of migrant workers. This dispute has also encouraged trade union recruitment at a time when membership in the private sector had been falling. It also became apparent that there is a strong need to identify areas in which protective employment legislation and its enforcement could be tightened so as to protect employment standards and to inhibit the displacement of Irish workers. Until such measures are introduced, employers will need to be wary of following in Irish Ferries' footsteps, as one of the conclusions drawn from the Irish Ferries dispute is that exploitation, while not strictly unlawful, will not be accepted as a means of achieving competitiveness.
In conclusion therefore, employers will need to face up to the changes that are taking place in the Irish workforce, and will need to take the necessary action to ensure that they are not treating their migrant workers any less favourably than their fellow Irish workers. A failure to do so could result in the number of discrimination claims being brought against Irish employers by their migrant workers increasing further, which will ultimately have a costly financial impact on employers.
Paul Glenfield is a partner at Matheson Ormsby Prentice and is Head of the firm's Employment, Pensions and Benefits Group.
Layla Bunni is a solicitor at Matheson Ormsby Prentice and is a member of the firm's Employment, Pensions and Benefits Group.