60 second guide: to positive discrimination

Except in the case of public sector employers, employers are not generally obliged to take positive action. General positive action To lawfully take positive action, an employer must consider that a particular group is disadvantaged, has different needs, or has disproportionately low representation. Evidence will be required of the reason for the employer's conclusion in this respect, which may include evidence of the profile of the workforce and other monitoring data. The positive action must be proportionate and the lawfulness of positive action will depend on the seriousness of the relevant disadvantage, the extremity of need or under-representation and other options to counter the disadvantages. An example of positive action includes training courses (for example, providing IT training opportunities for employees over a certain age where data shows that group has greater difficulties using IT systems). You might also decide to provide bursaries to obtain qualifications in a profession or offer mentoring support to a particular group. Positive action in recruitment and promotion If a particular group is disadvantaged, or its participation in an activity is disproportionately low, the employer can treat a person from that group more favourably than others in recruitment and promotion. Selection on merit is, however, key. If a candidate without the protected characteristic is more qualified for the post, they should be appointed. It is only if both candidates are as qualified as each other that preference may be given to the candidate with the protected characteristic. Given the broad range of factors that often form the assessment of an individual's suitability for the post, demonstrating that candidates are equally qualified will be a challenge for employers. For this reason, employers often avoid taking positive action when making recruitment decisions.