Concern over level of compliance with equality law by companies

COMPANIES which ignore equality legislation leave themselves open to racism claims in the workplace.

Small private businesses have the worst record for not taking reasonable steps to prevent discrimination against Travellers or other ethnic minorities. But remarkably, one-in-three State bodies has no policies or procedures in place to minimise the risk of a racism charge.

“The basic level of compliance with equality legislation is a source of concern,” the chief executive of the Equality Authority Niall Crowley said yesterday. “Most business and organisations tend to be reactive when a discrimination issue arises, but being reactive is too late,” he said.