Building Your Anti-Discrimination Policy: Important Inclusions

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Did you know employers can be held accountable for any discriminatory actions by their employees or agents? It's called vicarious liability -- here's how you can ensure your anti-discrimination policies meet the minimum requirements.

Why do I need an anti-discrimination policy?

The key purpose of an anti-discrimination policy is to explain what unlawful discrimination is and identify what it is not. This highlights your Company's stance on discrimination and what will be tolerated in the workplace.

As an employer, your anti-discrimination policy needs to show you have taken all reasonable precautions to prevent this type of conduct from happening.

Here's a few tips and what you could include in your anti-discrimination policy:

The purpose behind the policy and the Company's stance on discrimination
The broad scope of who anti-discrimination laws apply to and in what setting
- e.g employee, director, manager, contractor etc
- e.g the office, external training, social functions, client visits etc
The employer's commitment to ensuring employees do not experience discrimination
- e.g stating to your employees this behaviour will not be tolerated
- e.g providing training to managers and employees
- e.g. demonstrating by example
A definition of what discrimination is and what it is not.
1. Important: not all behaviours constitute unlawful discrimination. There are circumstances where it can be lawful and it is important to know what these are, and inform your employees of the same.
What employees experiencing and/or witnessing discrimination should do
- e.g who to contact first & what the process looks like
What steps the employer will take once a report is made
- e.g treating reports fairly and seriously, confidentiality, the investigation process etc
Consequences and ramifications if an employee is found to have engaged in unlawful discrimination
- e.g participating in training, counselling, mediation, formal warning or dismissal
- e.g. safety breaches
- e.g legal ramifications for the individual and the company

If you're are looking to draft an anti-discrimination policy, unsure if your current policy is compliant or considering updates to your existing policy, please contact the Employii team via [email protected] and one of our HR Consultants can assist you through this process!

Author: Jess Roughsedge (HR Officer)

Building Your Anti-Discrimination Policy: Important Inclusions

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