Equality Commission Northern Ireland

INTRODUCTION TO UNDERSTANDING EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE

Basic – for beginners in employment equality
This seminar is designed to give employers an awareness of the principal anti-discrimination laws and explores the concepts of direct and indirect discrimination.  It also looks at the particular requirements of Northern Ireland's fair employment legislation.

Webinar overview:
 

• The role and function of the Equality Commission
• Introduction to anti-discrimination legislation in NI
• Definitions of discrimination
• The reasonable adjustment duty
• Fair Employment Treatment Order (FETO)
• Good practice

RECRUITING FAIRLY 

Systematic, fair and objective recruitment and selection procedures increase the likelihood that the most suitable persons will be appointed and significantly reduce the possibility that unlawful discrimination will occur. This session looks in detail at the various aspects of the recruitment and selection process and aims to provide employers with practical guidance and support.

Session overview:
 

• Recruitment and selection and the law
• Developing an effective policy and procedure
• Avoiding common mistakes
• Practical examination of key aspects of the recruitment and selection process (including job documentation and reasonable adjustments)
• Case law
• Good practice

HOW TO DEVELOP AND/OR REVIEW A RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION POLICY 

This webinar is aimed at those employers who wish to develop a recruitment & selection policy or review your existing policy.

Session overview:
 

• The need for an up to date recruitment & selection policy 
• How to develop a recruitment & selection policy 
• Equality Commission template policy

MANAGING HARASSMENT AND BULLYING AT WORK - PROMOTING AN INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE
- Delivered by the Equality Commission NI and Labour Relations Agency

Harassment and bullying at work continue to be an unpleasant fact of life for many employees. Employers can work to change this by putting in place policies and procedures to create and help sustain inclusive workplaces. The Equality Commission and Labour Relations Agency have produced guidance (pdf) that outlines some steps that you can take to help build an inclusive workplace.

This webinar will examine the types of behaviour that can constitute harassment and bullying and the impact of these behaviours in the workplace. It will highlight the legal position in relation to harassment and bullying as well as issues liability, and what actions employers can take to promote diverse and inclusive workplaces.

Webinar overview:

• Types of harassment
• Bullying and harassment behaviours
• Differences between bullying and harassment
• Legal context
• Nature and consequences of workplace bullying and harassment
• Developing effective policies and procedures
• Building an inclusive workplace
• Equality Commission workplace research

MAKING SURE YOUR ANTI-HARASSMENT AND BULLYING POLICY IS CURRENT

This webinar will help employers audit and review their existing Anti-Harassment and Bullying Policy against the Equality Commission’s template Policy, to ensure the employer’s policy is both current and reflects emerging good practice. Employers without an Anti-Harassment and Bullying Policy, will be advised on how to develop such a policy.

Webinar overview:

• Good practice advice for developing an anti-harassment policy
• Key elements that an anti-harassment policy should include
• How an anti-harassment policy should be implemented
• Dealing with complaints under the policy
• Monitoring and review

MANAGING FLEXIBLE WORKING IN A POST PANDEMIC CONTEXT

This webinar will examine the practice of flexible working in Northern Ireland and the challenges to ensure equality of opportunity with new working practices such as hybrid working and increasing requests for flexible working from employees.

Webinar overview:

• What is meant by flexible working (hybrid working is one example)
• Business benefits of adopting flexible working to attract talent from under- represented groups
• Flexible working and its relationship with employment and equality law
• Promoting good practice

THE DISABILITY REASONABLE ADJUSTMENT DUTY IN THE RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PROCESS
 

This webinar will examine the management of disability in the workplace with a particular emphasis on the reasonable adjustment duty and promotion of equality of opportunity for disabled applicants and employees. It is aimed at employers who already have a knowledge of the key provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995.


Webinar Overview
 

• The requirements of the reasonable adjustment duty in the DDA
• The importance of the duty to promoting equality in employment for disabled people
• How to develop an action plan to facilitate compliance with the duty and promote good practice

PROMOTING EQUALITY IN EMPLOYMENT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

This webinar will examine how employers can promote equality and employment for disabled people with an emphasis on the reasonable adjustment duty.

Webinar overview:
 

• Barriers to recruitment and retention of those with disabilities
• Effective strategies to reduce and minimise these barriers
• Types of discrimination
• The reasonable adjustment duty
• Reasonable adjustment examples
• Positive action
   

BRAIN INJURY MATTERS SEMINAR

This seminar will look at the issues around employing people with brain injuries and the support available to both employers and employees. The session will include an employee discussiong barriers to employment for those with brain inuries.

Session overview:

• 'Brain Injuries Matter' - who are we/what do we do?
• What is an aquired brain injury?
• Issues that present after a brain injury
• Support for workplaces
• Questions and answers

PROMOTING MENTAL WELL BEING AT WORK

This webinar will examine the responsibilities placed on employers under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, such as complying with the reasonable adjustments duty.  It will encourage employers to review their employment policies and procedures and examine how to implement good practice/positive action measures which are permissible under the law.

Webinar overview:
 

• The legal, human and business case for healthy workplaces
• Managing mental health successfully
• The Reasonable adjustment duty and examples
• Positive action
• The Mental Health Charter

PREGNANCY AND MATERNITY AT WORK

This session will focus on informing employers of their responsibilities in relation to equality law related issues regarding pregnancy and maternity.

It has been designed to provide employers with the key advice they need to ensure they are complying with their legal responsibilities following a recent investigation into pregnancy and maternity conducted by the Commission.

Session overview:
 

• Brief overview of equality and employment law, with a focus on their application to pregnancy, maternity and maternity leave
• Issues of discrimination that can arise from the management of pregnancy and maternity leave
• Best practice examples

PROMOTING EQUALITY IN EMPLOYMENT FOR WOMEN AFFECTED BY MENOPAUSE

This webinar is being hosted by the Labour Relations Agency and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland to introduce you to our new guide on Promoting Equality in Employment for Women Affected by Menopause. In this webinar we will:
 

• Introduce the guidance and outline the findings of the ICTU survey on menopause and work
• Outline steps that employers should take to fairly manage women experiencing symptoms of menopause
• Set out the equality law implications in Northern Ireland and lessons from case law

RACE EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE
- Delivered by Business in the Community and the Equality Commission NI

This online workshop is the first in a programme of four to support employers with promoting and embracing race equality and inclusivity in the workplace.

This session will provide employers with a better understanding of:
 

• how to ensure equality in the recruitment and selection process
• how to make recruitment and selection more inclusive
• how to recognise unconscious bias and how it can impact the recruitment and selection process
• awareness and benefits of embracing the Race at Work Charter

The session will be delivered by Stephany McConnell, Head of Wellbeing & Inclusion at Business in the Community, and Roisin Kelly, Advisory Services Team, Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

REASONABLE STEPS DEFENCE

This webinar is designed to give participants an understanding of the statutory defence that they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent acts of unlawful discrimination in their workplace.


Session overview:

• Overview of the reasonable steps defence in practice
• Discussion of the key tools which may be used to promote equality of opportunity and a good and harmonious working environment
• An examination of the concept vicarious liability
• Examples of good practice

EMPLOYER QUESTION TIME: CREATING AN INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE

This Question Time webinar is aimed at those employers who have attended our harassment and bullying training and who would welcome the chance to have a more in-depth discussion on the issues raised or on any issues that they require more information on. It’s an opportunity to listen to and learn from the experiences of other employers in terms of the barriers they faced in developing inclusive workplaces and the solutions which enabled them to overcome these barriers.

Employers wishing to attend will be encouraged to submit questions in advance of the discussion, though it will also be possible to pose your questions at the webinar.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES MONITORING

This webinar is for those employers wishing to develop voluntary systems of employment equality monitoring.

Session overview:
 

• The reasons for employment equality monitoring 
• How to establish a system of employment equality monitoring 
• Equality Commission guidance on employment equality monitoring

MONITORING WORKSHOPS

These sessions will advise employers on how to comply with their legislative duty to collate and retain monitoring information for inclusion in the annual monitoring return.

Session overview:
 

• Discuss completion of the annual monitoring return
• Address employer queries

Workshops are limited to 16 places, book now to avoid disappointment.
 

ARTICLE 55 REVIEW - KEY ASPECTS

To provide support around completion of the three yearly, Article 55 Review, we are offering an overview of some key aspects of the review and the opportunity for you to ask questions relating to the review process.
 

It is intended that we will cover the analysis and evaluation of:

Session overview:

• Fair Participation as an underpinning theme running throughout the review process
• Identification of geographical catchment areas for your organisation and related comparator ranges. These are key to the assessment of fair participation and as benchmarking tools, help the analysis and evaluation of the following points
• Workforce Composition
• Workforce Flows
   

These aspects of the review are interlinked.
 
Our expectation is that you may be working towards completing an Article 55 Review for your organisation. That being the case, we hope you will be in a position to identify questions arising from your initial work on your review. Please have these questions to hand and we will address them during the meeting or shortly after.

Please note, the time allocated for this webinar is approximate. Workshops are limited to 16 places, book now to avoid disappointment.

PUBLIC SECTOR: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE S75 OF THE NORTHERN IRELAND ACT 1998
 

• The two Section 75 Equality duties i.e. equality of opportunity and good relations
• Responsibilities placed on public authorities by these duties 
• Key responsibilities in relation to policy screening, policy impact assessment, consultation, data collection, training and monitoring

PUBLIC SECTOR: SECTION 75 DUTIES
- A FOCUS ON SCREENING

• Why Screen-link to equality scheme commitments?
• When, how and by whom should screening be undertaken?
• Screening and equality impact assessment
• Challenging the myths around screening
• Good Practice Screening
• Summary of our S75 advice on screening and EQIA's (pdf, 409kb)
  
   

PUBLIC SECTOR: SECTION 75 EQUALITY MONITORING

This webinar is for staff within public authorities who have responsibility for developing and maintaining Section 75 equality monitoring systems and procedures.

Session overview:
 

PUBLIC SECTOR: SECTION 75 DUTIES AND EQUALITY ASSESSMENTS
 

• Why Screen-link to equality scheme commitments?
• When, how and by whom should screening be undertaken?
• Screening and equality impact assessment
• Challenging the myths around screening
• Good Practice Screening
• Summary of our S75 advice on screening and EQIA's (pdf, 409kb)