Home » Posts » Companies urged to prepare for the Employment (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill

Companies urged to prepare for the Employment (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill

by Marlon Madden
5 min read
A+A-
Reset

Companies are being warned to start putting their houses in order as it relates to job specifications, recruitment and promotion. This caution has come from labour relations specialist Sheena Mayers-Granville and human resource specialist Brittany Brathwaite as they advised businesses about the need to be more inclusive in preparation for the passing and proclamation of the Employment (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill.

Exploring several provisions in the pending law, which seeks to position Barbados in line with international regulation in addressing issues relating to discrimination in employment, they encouraged that attention be paid to terms and conditions of service including clear job specifications.

Brathwaite, President of the Human Resource Management Association of Barbados (HRMAB), warned that the terms and conditions that make up the “operationalisation of contracts” will be very important because that could be assessed in the context of the discrimination in the employment bill.

She also warned that recruitment agencies, small businesses and those who “lend support to employers” were not exempt from the pending law.

Brathwaite was speaking during a webinar session on Wednesday on the topic Different: The New Normal 2.

Pointing out that a lot of the conversation was currently about sex, sexual orientation and domestic partnership status, Brathwaite warned that businesses should also pay close attention to the other areas.

“So be prepared. Be prepared in a wide way, be prepared in a comprehensive way to ensure that what you are working with as a written policy is operationalised and cannot be construed as either directly or indirectly discriminatory,” warned Brathwaite.

“I think it helps if you can be proactive rather than waiting to hear that the timeline for adherence is three months and then you are rushing to get policies done. It really helps to start proactively making the changes to culturally adjusting the persons in your workforce to what needs to be accepted,” she added.

The bill makes provision for individuals not to be discriminated against based on 18 areas: race, origin, colour, creed, sex, sexual orientation, political opinion, trade union affiliation, marital status, pregnancy, social status, maternity, medical condition, family responsibility, domestic partnership status, disability, age or physical feature.

Brathwaite and Mayers-Granville both agreed there were still concerns regarding the prohibition against testing for medical condition, saying there was a “lack of language” articulated around drug and alcohol testing and other specific areas that could potentially impact on a particular job.

However, they quickly pointed out that since the bill was still in the discussion phase, they anticipated that lobbyists would not allow it to be passed unless those areas were clear.

Under Section 6 of the bill, it says: “Subject to Section 8, an employer shall not require a person to answer questions in relation to, or undergo a test for, a medical condition as a precondition to entering into a contract of employment or as a condition for the continuance of employment.”

However, Section 8 said: “Notwithstanding Section 6, a person may be required to answer questions in relation to, or undergo a test for, a medical condition where the result of the test is necessary to determine whether the person satisfies, or continues to satisfy, a genuine occupational qualification.”

Mayers-Granville said she believed the new prevention of discrimination bill will force HR practitioners to ensure their organizations have clear job specifications in place.

“It is very important for persons to think about what competencies would need to be demonstrated and then use that in their recruitment in generating their advertisement, in their interviewing et cetera,” said Mayers-Granville.

“I would say HR practitioners, look at your job descriptions and specifications. That will be key in then informing your recruitment policies and promotion policies. The focus should be on a genuine occupational qualification. Outside of that, there is an economic case for diversity and inclusiveness and therefore, it would be prudent to have a policy that speaks to diversity,” she advised.

Touching on the area of age, Mayers-Granville said she was aware that age discrimination was becoming a “big” concern for many people in Barbados, who have indicated that from the time they reached 50 finding a job got increasingly difficult.

“So we really need to consider the age discrimination factor as well. Having that diversity policy would also be very useful, a policy that you put into practice and it is not just on paper,” said Mayers-Granville.

Insisting that business and the country could benefit more economically from having a diverse and inclusive workforce, she said it was also important that companies have employees with different levels of educational background.

They also advised companies to learn from past cases that have gone before the Employment Rights Tribunal, while pointing out that the legislation in its current state allowed for claims to go directly to the tribunal, which was a divergence from the norm of first informing the employer of the intention to make the claim.

(marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb)

You may also like

About Us

Barbados Today logos white-14

The (Barbados) Today Inc. is a privately owned, dynamic and innovative Media Production Company.

Useful Links

Get Our News

Newsletter

Subscribe my Newsletter for new blog posts, tips & new photos. Let's stay updated!

Barbados Today logos white-14

The (Barbados) Today Inc. is a privately owned, dynamic and innovative Media Production Company.

BT Lifestyle

Newsletter

Subscribe my Newsletter for new blog posts, tips & new photos. Let's stay updated!

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Accept Privacy Policy

-
00:00
00:00
Update Required Flash plugin
-
00:00
00:00