Member Article

Construction organisation to promote workplace diversity

A new organisation has been established in the North East aimed at tackling the issue of discrimination in the construction industry.

The ConstructED initiative has been launched by Assessment North East to promote equality in the traditionally male-dominated industry, with few disabled employees or workers from ethnic minorities.

The idea responds to the terms of the recently-implemented Equality Act 2010, and directives from the European Commission on Human Rights, which require employers to take reasonable steps to stop discrimination, harassment or victimisation occurring in the workplace.
to comply with the duties and obligations can result in fines or legal bills of thousands of pounds.

Statistics compiled during 2008 and 2009 and published in 2010 - prior to the Equality Act 2010 entering the statute books - showed that the average compensation awarded by tribunals in cases associated with race, sex, religion, sexual orientation and age discrimination equated to £19,000. The maximum award made during the same period was £1.5 million for a race discrimination case.

Robert Macleod, managing director of Assessment North East, said: “This is a sector-leading initiative which we are proud to have launched, in an industry where many companies themselves will acknowledge they have a lot of work to do.

“Having E&D policies and procedures in place, which are adhered to and all staff are aware of, is not only important because it’s the right thing to do – but now, more so than ever before, it is a legal obligation to follow these policies and procedures.

ConstructED are now working with construction companies from across the North East to ensure that all aspects of their work comply with their legal obligations. It also offers them the means to achieve the nationally-recognised Diversity Awards accolade, to demonstrate the company has taken steps to embed diversity practices into their business.

Several businesses in the construction industry have already offered their support to the initiative, along with the North East Chamber of Commerce.

James Ramsbotham, chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce, praised Assessment North East for its commitment to promoting E&D in the region, and said: “ConstructED is a dynamic initiative, which promotes the hugely important issues of equality and diversity, and offers a means to achieve E&D goals to companies which need it most.

“We are very pleased to support the project.”

While ConstructED is currently only available on the North East, it is hoped that the initiative will be rolled out across the UK over the coming months.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .