Positive discrimination 'might prompt some to sue'

Published on Sunday 26 April 2009 22:40

SERIOUS concerns over the extent of workplace inequalities in Scotland and plans to address them are revealed in a report published today.

More than half of senior HR professionals at Scottish organisations surveyed by law firm DLA Piper Scotland have admitted concerns that women and minority groups are under-represented in their organisation.

The Equality Bill, which gets its first reading at Westminster today, has been hailed as a landmark move to end discrimination, making it easier for women to get equal pay and introducing measures to improve workplace diversity. It is expected to allow recruiters to favour equally qualified candidates from under-represented groups.

But Russell Bradley, head of employment law at DLA Piper Scotland, believes such positive discrimination is likely to be controversial and that Scottish employers may be discouraged from taking the risk of using it. He said: "The chances that managers could misapply positive discrimination could lead to disgruntled candidates suing and this may strongly discourage organisations from applying it.

"Also, there are risks that colleagues may think someone got their job due to their race, sex or disability which could cause significant friction at work."