BULLYING & HARASSMENT
DATA PROTECTION
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DISCIPLINE & GRIEVANCE
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EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS
E M P L OY M E N T L AW U P DAT E
A WELCOME RETURN TO SCOTTISH PRIDE By Natalia Milne Navigator Employment Law
Pride events and celebrations across Scotland this summer are likely to be well attended after a hiatus in the past couple of years during the Covid pandemic.
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Trans equality and legal issues impacting on HR Professionals handling recruitment
ncreasingly UK businesses recognise the commercial benefits of inclusivity. In May this year, the UK’s Minister for Equalities, Mike Freer, welcomed the launch of OutBritain, an accreditation scheme for LGBT+ owned organisations in the UK. During a speech at the launch event, he highlighted research suggesting that ‘open, inclusive and diverse societies are better for business and economic growth’ and how LGBT+ inclusive employers can attract and retain talent, which in turn helps to build customer loyalty and brand strength, enhancing financial performance. “In recent times, it has become clear that increasing numbers of employees and customers no longer wish to associate with organisations that do not share their values,” he said, pointing out that advances made by businesses in driving LGBT+ inclusion in their workplace have in turn been an engine for driving wider change.
Trans equality has regularly featured in news as the Scottish Government consults on draft legislation to change the system through which transgender people can gain legal recognition. The Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) already prohibits unlawful discrimination based on gender reassignment. It protects not only those holding a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), as the legislation also covers someone who is “proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person’s sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.
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