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 EXAM FOCUS POINT 
Bear in mind that the above provisions apply in the UK. Other countries, for reasons of social policy, 
may have different legislative measures in place. The principles of UK law may represent good practice 
anywhere. 
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CHAPTER 13
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DIVERSITY AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES 
 
347 
 
3
The practical implications 
 
The practical implications of the legislation for employers are set out in 
Codes of Practice
. These do not 
have the force of law, but may be taken into account by employment tribunals. 
3.1 Formulating an effective equal opportunities policy 
Many organisations now establish their own 
policy statements
or 
codes of practice on equal 
opportunities
: apart from anything else, a statement of the organisation's position may provide some 
protection in the event of complaints. 
Some organisations make minimal efforts to avoid discrimination, paying lip-service to the idea only to 
the extent of claiming 'We are an Equal Opportunities Employer' on advertising literature. To turn such a 
claim into reality, the following are needed. 
(a)
Support 
from the top of the organisation for the formulation of a practical policy. 
(b) A 
working party
drawn from – for example – management, unions, minority groups, the HR 
function and staff representatives. This group's brief will be to produce a draft Policy and Code of 
Practice, which will be approved at senior level. 
(c)
Action plans and resources
(including staff) to implement and monitor the policy, publicise it to 
staff, arrange training, and so on. 
(d)
Monitoring
the numbers of women and ethnic minority staff can easily be done 

On entering (and applying to enter) the organisation 

On leaving the organisation 

On applying for transfers, promotions or training schemes 
(It is less easy to determine the ethnic origins of the workforce through such methods as 
questionnaires: there is bound to be suspicion about the question's motives, and it may be 
offensive to some workers.) 
(e)
Positive action
, namely the process of taking active steps to encourage people from disadvantaged 
groups to apply for jobs and training, and to compete for vacancies. (Note that this is not positive 
discrimination.) Examples might be using ethnic languages in job advertisements, or implementing 
training for women in management skills. In addition, there may be awareness training, counselling 
and disciplinary measures to manage sexual, racial and religious harassment. 
3.2 Recruitment and selection