Equality is high profile in the UK and Wales with new anti-discrimination legislation, and the upcoming formation of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights. In an area that can be notoriously difficult to navigate, there are clear benefits for utilising expertise wherever possible to ensure that robust equality policies and effective methods for implementing these are developed.

There is a lot of pressure on organisations to be complying with the law on equality and a significant opportunity exists for trade unions and employers to work closely together on securing improvements in working conditions for their members and staff.

There is a well established and extremely strong business case for having a strong equality ethos and working practice, with brief examples below:

• Promoting equality and encouraging a diverse workforce benefits all members of staff, not just those from minority or disadvantaged groups
• Reduced risk of litigation and grievances and damage to reputation and credibility.
• This develops a culture that values all staff, creates a reputation for fairness which can:
  • Reduce employee turnover
  • Improve flexibility, loyalty and retention of employees
  • Motivate and improve performance of employees
  • Recruit skilled and talented applicants