Top Tips
Here are some Top Tips to help:-
Top ten tips for employers on combating racism
in the
workplace
1. Find out about your legal responsibilities under
the Race Relation Act. Get information and advice from the Commission
for Racial Equality (CRE), the Race Relations Employment Advisory Service
(within ACAS) and Equality Direct. In order to avoid liability for discriminatory
conduct by your employees you will need to take positive steps to prevent
racial discrimination.
2. Adopt an equal opportunities policy that states plainly your organisation's
commitment to anti-racism and equality of opportunity in its treatment
of staff, customers and suppliers, and provide a copy to every member
of staff and any new recruits, including temporary and agency staff.
If practicable, display the policy or a summary of its main provisions
as a reminder to staff, customers and suppliers that racism and racial
harassment in any form will not be tolerated.
3. Provide anti-racism and equal opportunities training for all of your
staff. The training should make clear to all staff that acts of discrimination
or racial harassment will normally be treated as gross misconduct. Training
for staff with managerial or supervisory responsibilities should emphasise
their role in preventing discrimination or harassment.
4. Establish fair procedures for staff to complain of racial harassment
or discrimination, and make sure that all staff are aware of their rights
under these procedures as complainant or as the person about whom a
complaint is made. So far as possible, these procedures should be aligned
to the organisation's grievance and disciplinary procedures.
5. Involve trade unions in developing and promoting anti-racism and
equality of opportunity.
6. Make sure your employees are aware of their rights to complain, and
given confidence to raise problems through the organisation's procedures.
Take all reasonable steps to prevent victimization of anyone who brings
a complaint.
7. Treat complaints seriously and deal with them quickly, effectively
and fairly.
8. Encourage and assist trade unions to offer advice and support to
their black and ethnic minority members in bringing complaints of discrimination.
If possible designate one or more members of staff who can advise and
support victims of discrimination in addition to or in the absence of
a trade union representative.
9. Establish systems to monitor by racial group recruitment, promotions,
grievances and discipline and evaluate the outcomes. Include race equality
performance in annual performance appraisals or reports for all managers.
10. Foster a culture of equality and respect across the organisation
through both your policies and actions.
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Top ten tips to deal with racial harassment at your child's school
Racial harassment at school can take the form of name-calling,
bullying, harassment, damage to property and physical attacks. It can
occur in the classroom, in the toilets or in other parts of school buildings,
in the playground, on school journeys or on the way to or from school.
While most racial harassment is from other pupils, it can also come from
teachers or other school staff or contractors.
1. Any form of racial harassment at school is likely
to affect your child's education but can also affect his or her physical
or mental health. Your child should not have to put up with it, nor
should you feel that there is nothing you can do.
2. The Race Relations Act outlaws discrimination by
schools and local education authorities (LEAs) in the provision of education
to pupils. A school (that is, the governing body of the school) will
normally be liable if it fails to take reasonable steps to protect its
pupils from racial harassment by other pupils or by anyone working in
the school. This means that if informal methods to resolve problems
of harassment fail, the parent of any child who is being racially harassed
may be able to bring proceedings in the county court against the governing
body. Parents should seek advice from the Commission for Racial Equality,
a local racial equality council or CAB or law centre.
3. Under the Race Relations Act the governing bodies
of maintained schools and LEAs also have a positive duty to promote
racial equality. Every school must develop a race equality policy, which
would be expected to set out the school's commitment to tackling racism
and harassment and discrimination and to explain what it is doing to
prevent racial harassment and what it will do if the policy is not followed.
Every parent is entitled to see this policy. Ask for a copy if one has
not been sent to you. If you feel that it is not adequate, tell the
Head Teacher what changes you believe are needed.
4. If you become aware that your child, or another child
has been subjected to racial harassment at school, find out if the school
is aware of what took place. If not, then it is a good idea to make
a note of the main facts: date, time place, what was said or done and
who was present. Older children should be encouraged to do this themselves.
Where harassment has occurred on more than one occasion, then it may
be helpful to keep a diary to record any further incidents.
5. Racist incidents should be reported to the school
without delay. The race equality policy may nominate one member of staff
to receive reports; otherwise your child, or you, should report any
incidents of racial harassment to your child's class teacher and to
the Head Teacher.
6. The school should have a procedure for the investigation
of complaints of racial harassment. You should ask for details of this
procedure, and ask to be kept informed as the investigation proceeds.
7. You should ask the school to tell you and your child
what action it will take and when. The school should have a procedure
for the investigation of complaints of racial harassment, and should
explain how the investigation will be carried out and what type of disciplinary
action could be taken if the complaint is upheld. You should also be
told what kind of support and counselling is provided for pupils who
have been harassed.
8. If your child is anxious that he or she may be subjected
to further harassment or attack, especially after the initial incident(s)
have been reported, you should discuss this with the class teacher or
the Head Teacher. It may be appropriate to ask the school to make temporary
arrangements to separate the children who are alleged to have been involved
or to review its arrangements for supervising pupils outside the classroom.
9. You should ask the school about its anti-racism and
equal opportunities education for pupils and training for staff, and
how the Head Teacher intends to discuss the particular incident you
have reported with pupils and staff.
10. As legal liability lies with the school's governing
body, you may want to inform the chair of governors and the parent governor
of any incidents of racial harassment affecting pupils at the school
and how well, or how poorly, you believe the school has responded.
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Top ten tips on dealing with racist incidents
in your community
Racist incidents can take many forms including verbal
abuse, violent assault, graffiti and other types of damage to property,
and other acts which are threatening, abusive or annoying. Racist incidents
should not be suffered in silence and you should not put up with them
hoping they will stop. Racists, and those they influence can and do maintain
a reign of terror over other people's lives. The intention may be to drive
them out of a neighbourhood, but often there will be no clear motive.
There are a number of steps you should take if you or a member of your
family is the victim of a racist incident. Since the report of the Stephen
Lawrence Inquiry all police forces, local authorities and other agencies
have agreed that a racist incident is any incident which is perceived
to be racist by the victim or any other person.
1. Report the incident and get advice. You can go straight
to the police - dial 999 in an emergency. Or you can go to your local
CAB, law centre or race equality council. In many areas you can also
report racist incidents to your local council.
2. If you report a racist incident to the police make
sure that that is how it is logged. All police forces are now expected
to record an incident as racist, and to investigate it as such, if that
is how it is described by the person making the report (or by anyone
they subsequently interview). If you are assisting the victim of a racist
incident and s/he has difficulty understanding English, then request
that the police provide an interpreter. If there is likely to be any
major delay, then with the victim's consent, you should report the matter
on his or her behalf.
3. Keep a note of all information that you tell the
police and of the time and date and the name and number of the officer
dealing with your case. It is advisable to report a racist incident
to the police, or to agree that one of the other agencies should do
so, so that a formal record is made.
4. Your harassers want you to feel isolated - don't
let them. Talk to your friends and family about what has happened, and
find out about other sources of support - the CAB will be able to help.
In many areas there are community organizations or monitoring groups
that offer support to victims of racist incidents as well as advocating
on their behalf with the police and other agencies.
5. Keep a detailed record of any incidents. This can
include photos of people's injuries and damage to property such as broken
windows or graffiti. Keep a record of any expenses you incur, for example
to repair any damage to your home.
6. If you are a council tenant and the racist incident
occurred at or near your home then contact your neighbourhood office
and/or housing department and discuss with them what they intend to
do to protect you and your family from further abuse or attack. Most
councils' tenancy agreements prohibit racist behaviour by tenants or
their visitors. You should let the council know if you would like to
be transferred to other accommodation or if you desire greater protection
where you are.
7. If you live in a housing association property and
the racist incident occurred at or near your home, then report the incident
to your association representative or office. Most housing associations
have anti-harassment policies similar to thoseof local councils.
8. If you live in private rented accommodation and the
racist incident occurred at or near your home then contact your landlord,
the CAB or a law centre. Some private landlords may have a procedure
for dealing with racial harassment and may be sympathetic. However,
many may not be supportive.
9. If you own your own home or if the racist incident
occurred at your place of work or at a community centre, religious centre
or as you were walking or driving in the area, then you should seek
advice from the CAB or a law centre and the community safety section
of the local council. There are a number of legal measures that might
be possible to protect you from further incidents.
10. If you find that no one is taking sufficient interest
and you are worried about further incidents affecting you and your family
then you could contact the chair of the police authority for your area,
your local councillor or MP to enlist their support.
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Top ten tips on dealing with racial harassment at
work
Unfortunately racial harassment at work is widespread
and can take many forms including:
- racist language, jokes, banter, insults and taunts
- racist literature and graffiti
- being excluded because of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national
origins, religion or other cultural differences,
- unfair work allocation
- being given the worst jobs or being overloaded or not being given
the same opportunity for overtime compared to others
- unjustified complaints
- physical attacks
- damage to property
1. No-one should have to put up with such treatment,
at work - or anywhere else. You can be racially harassed by anyone -
your boss, your colleagues, external contractors, customers, clients
and service users. Any such incident is unacceptable, and there are
no excuses.
2. Your employer has responsibility to take reasonable
steps to protect you from racial harassment at work.
3. Take action immediately. If you feel able, tell the
person to stop. Or write to them and explain that their behaviour is
upsetting you and ask them to stop. Let them know you will take the
matter further if they carry on. Keep a copy.
4. Keep a diary and record every incident in detail
with time and dates. Ask any witnesses to note down what they saw and
heard.
5. Contact your union rep or get advice immediately
from your local CAB, law centre or race equality council.
6. Racial harassment often causes stress-related illness;
you may also want to consult your GP or arrange for counselling.
7. Report the harassment to your employer, either yourself
or through your union rep. A good employer will have agreed equal opportunities
and other policies such as anti-harassment with the union. There should
be internal procedures for lodging a grievance or a complaint as a first
formal step to registering the fact that there is a problem.
8. Whoever you report to must make certain that your
complaint is investigated promptly and that something is done about
it. If you are worried about repeat harassment or victimisation, then
ask your employer to make temporary arrangements to prevent further
contact by the harasser.
9. Make a record of the date you complained about the
harassment, to whom you spoke, what was said and what action was agreed
on. This will be important later if you decide to go to an employment
tribunal.
10. Don't give up - get support and good advice. If
matters cannot be resolved internally you may need to take your case
to an employment tribunal. Act quickly - get advice from your trade
union, local race equality council, CAB or law centre. Remember there
are strict time limits within which to make a claim.
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MONEY MATTERS - Ten Top Tips on how to get a better
deal
1. Don't be intimidated by money matters. Take an interest
in your finances and keep track of how much money you have coming in,
and how much you have to set aside for essential bills. You can become
well informed by reading money pages and listening to personal finance
programmes.
2. Do your homework. Spend time shopping around, researching
what's on offer and getting advice - the Internet can be a useful resource
for this. You may think it will take too much time when you need a loan
quickly, but if you skip this vital part of the process, you could be
paying the price for years to come.
3. If you can afford to pay for your goods outright,
don't be persuaded to take out credit unless it really does work out
cheaper or better meets your financial plans.
4. Don't make the common mistake of looking only at
the monthly payments required under a credit agreement. Work out the
total amount payable over the term of the loan - bearing in mind that
with some loans you may be paying a variable interest rate.
5. What seems like a good deal can have hidden costs.
For example, reduced monthly minimum payments or 'payment holidays'
result in significantly larger total payments. And store cards may seem
like a convenient way to pay but some of them charge a rate of interest
of over 30% a year.
6. Interest-free credit may seem like a good idea, but
make sure you repay the full amount before the free interest period
expires. Even if you are only one day late, you may have to pay interest
on the total cost from the very moment you bought the goods.
7. Make sure you know the difference between secured
and unsecured lending, and don't put your home at risk unnecessarily.
8. Think carefully whether you need the optional insurance
to cover your payments and make sure it really is suitable for you,
you may already be covered elsewhere. It can be highly expensive and
add massively to your loan and may not be worth the paper it's written
on.
9. Extended warranties can be poor value. Research has
shown that the cost of a repair is likely to be less than the cost of
an extended warranty. You may also be covered under consumer protection
legislation.
10. Think twice before taking out a consolidation loan
to manage other debts. You may be able to arrange to pay back existing
debts over a longer period of time - at less cost and less risk than
a new loan.
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