Affirmative action 

The sixth of the key duties is to take affirmative action, and where it is reasonable and appropriate to do so, and to consider setting goals and timetables. 

The purpose of an Article 55 Review is to determine whether for members of each community there is fair participation and, if this is the case, whether the situation is likely to continue. Where fair participation does not exist, employers must decide on the affirmative action that would be appropriate, including the use of goals and timetables. Click here to view a sample affirmative action plan. 

In general terms, affirmative action can be defined as being anything consistent with the legislation which is necessary to bring about positive change. Affirmative action measures should be designed to bring about such change and any employer who discovers a problem area or potential problem area should take action to resolve the situation. This applies at any time and not simply to something discovered during the conduct of a review. There is no need for an employer to wait to be required to take action by the Commission but naturally the Commission can be consulted at any time for advice about action which an employer is contemplating.

Deciding on affirmative action

The Commission considers that the successful implementation of any affirmative action programme is likely to occur where the employees and management work together to achieve the aims of the programme. For this reason consultation with recognised trade unions or employee representatives should take place following the review, prior to the introduction of any affirmative action programme and at various stages thereafter.

The type of affirmative action measures which are appropriate will follow from the analysis of what the review reveals. Each organisation should draw up a programme which is suitable for its particular needs. All employment practices and procedures should be examined to see if they have an adverse impact on members of a particular community. Unless the use of the practices or procedures can be shown to be justifiable they must be abandoned and replaced by measures which ensure equality of opportunity for all job applicants and employees.

For example:

• Where members of one community are applying in fewer numbers than might reasonably be expected, it could be decided to include a statement in advertisements that applications from that group are particularly welcome;
• If a lower proportion of members of one community is recruited, then changes to the recruitment procedures may be appropriate;
• If fewer members of one community are represented in senior positions than might reasonably be expected, then it might be appropriate to devise a training or development programme which would fit members of that group for promotion but would not exclude members of any other group;
• If members of a community are under-represented in the workforce, a training programme for that community may be appropriate.

´Chill factors´

The representation of members of one community in some organisations may be affected by a ‘chill factor’. This occurs where members of one community can feel discouraged or prevented from applying for employment in an organisation because it is traditionally associated with the other community. Attempts to overcome a ‘chill factor’ must be made by adopting appropriate affirmative action measures.

There are three areas outlined in the legislation where affirmative action is likely to have the greatest impact on the provision of equality and the achievement of fair participation and which are excepted from complaints of direct or indirect discrimination. They cover:

• Encouraging applications from the under-represented group to achieve a more representative pool from which employees will be selected.
• The provision of training. An employer may provide training for people at a particular location or for people of a particular class to help fit them for employment but may not confine the training to members of one community.

In some circumstances an employer may be allowed to develop training programmes focussed solely on individuals of a particular religious belief.

The amendment of redundancy procedures to ensure that gains made as a result of affirmative action measures at the recruitment stage are not automatically lost in the event of redundancies. Any new procedures may not be framed by reference to a particular religious belief or political opinion.

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