What’s new in diversity and inclusion this year?

The new decade is bringing new considerations for diversity inclusion in the workplace. The Equality Act is now 10 years old, and while there aren’t any substantive legislative updates, other changes in the law in the last decade could mean it’s time for a refresh of your equality-related policies and procedures.

Mixed-sex civil partnerships

Civil partnerships were invented in 2004 as a way to give same-sex couples legal protections broadly similar to marriage, albeit with a few differences. At that time marriage was illegal for same-sex couples across the UK. In 2014, the same-sex marriage ban was lifted in England and Wales, as well as in Scotland, although it remained in force in Northern Ireland.

This created inequality in the law, as civil partnerships had been created exclusively for same-sex couples, who then had the option to choose either a civil partnership or a marriage, while mixed-sex couples could only choose a marriage.

The legal differences between the two institutions include how they are formed and their grounds for dissolution, and campaigners took the case to the Supreme Court who agreed that civil partnerships should also be available to mixed-sex couples.

Mixed-sex civil partnerships became available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland at the end of 2019, while Scotland is currently legislating for the same change. The government expects up to 84,000 couples to form a mixed-sex civil partnership in 2020.

What to do

Because civil partnerships were exclusively a same-sex institution until now, the assumption was that two people in a civil partnership would identify as LGBTQ. 

The wording of policies or guidance should take into account the fact that someone in a civil partnership could be gay or straight, just as someone in a marriage could be gay or straight.

Marriage equality in Northern Ireland

On 13 January 2020, marriage equality finally became a reality for same-sex couples in Northern Ireland, bringing the province into line with the rest of the UK, as well as the Republic. Abortion was also decriminalised in Northern Ireland late last year. 

Although the Stormont Assembly was suspended for the last three years, the legal changes were introduced by amendments in Westminster and signed into law by the Northern Ireland Secretary.

What to do

Check that your policies and guidance are now consistent across the whole of the UK. There is no need to differentiate between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK when it comes to marriage and civil partnership. 

Pay particular attention to how things are worded, or how data is collected to take account of the fact that anyone in any part of the UK could be in a marriage or civil partnership.

Ethical veganism

In January 2020, an employment judge ruled that ethical veganism, i.e. the practice of being a vegan out of a sincere belief, was a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act, which prohibits discrimination based on religion or belief. 

The judge was ruling in an unfair dismissal case where a vegan man alleged that he was sacked for raising concerns that the pension fund of his employer, the League Against Cruel Sports, was investing in companies involved in animal testing.

While this was a decision by one Employment Tribunal and does not bind others, it could open the gateway to more actions by people who feel they have been discriminated against because of their veganism. 

There may be a difference when it comes to people who eat a plant-based diet for non-ethical reasons. Similarly, someone going vegan only for the month of January would probably not be considered to hold an ethical belief. The key question, if the case holds, is whether someone’s diet can be considered to be driven by an underlying belief, similar to someone who keeps kosher for religious reasons.

While the decision is not yet final, no employee should feel harassed or bullied at work for their beliefs. Offensive jokes or comments about vegans or veganism could be just as unlawful as those against a religious or ethnic group.

What to do

Consider vegan options when providing food to staff. Not catering for ethical vegans could be considered indirect discrimination. In the past not having vegan options might have sometimes been justifiable due to unavailability, but now unavailability is far less likely given the wide and growing range of vegan food options available.

Think about how to reassure staff who are vegan in your equality and diversity policies. You might decide, for instance, to specifically include an ethically-based diet in a list of topics unsuitable for making fun of at work, along with race, religion or political belief.

Dates for your diary

There’s a wide array of special awareness days, weeks and months throughout the year. These can be great opportunities to highlight groups and causes often marginalised in society and demonstrate to staff and clients your commitment to inclusion. Here are just a few awareness dates in 2020.

January

• Cervical Health Awareness Month
• Dry January
• 27 Jan – Holocaust Memorial Day

February

• LGBT History Month
• National Heart Month
• 4 Feb – World Cancer Day
• 6 Feb – Time to Talk Day
• 28 Feb – Stand up to Bullying Day

March

• Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
• Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
• 8 Mar – International Women’s Day
• 21 Mar – World Down Syndrome Day
• 30 Mar – World Bipolar Day

April

• Autism Awareness Month
• Stress Awareness Month
• 8 Apr – International Romani Day
• 22 Apr – Earth Day

May

• Mental Health Awareness Month
• Celiac Awareness Month
• 17 May – International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

June

• Men’s Health Awareness Month
• Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History Month
• LGBTQ Pride Month
• 14 Jun – World Blood Donor Day

July

• International Women with Alopecia Month
• 28 Jul – World Hepatitis Day
• 30 Jul – World Day against Trafficking Persons

August

• Health and Safety Month
• 9 Aug – International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

September

• World Alzheimer’s and Dementia Awareness Month
• 10 Sep – World Suicide Prevention Day
• 23 Sep – Bi Visibility Day
• 27 Sep – World Deaf Day

October

• Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• Black History Month
• 16 Oct – World Food Day

November

• 14 Nov – World Diabetes Day
• 19 Nov – International Men’s Day
• 20 Nov – Transgender Day of Rememberance
• 25 Nov – International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

December

• 1 Dec – World AIDS Day
• 2 Dec – International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
• 10 Dec – Human Rights Day
• 18 Dec – International Migrants Day

How can VinciWorks help

VinciWorks’ diversity and harassment training suite does more than simply cover a business’ regulatory obligations. Our training tackles issues at the forefront of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Our latest course, Diversity and Inclusion at Work: MyStory, is designed to bring to life the real impact of equality and diversity through storytelling. It raises awareness of the prevalence and impact of diversity discrimination and covers the UK Equality Act 2010. You can demo the course here.