Page 17 - Race Awareness Pocket Book

Positive action

Measures that can be lawfully taken in England,

Scotland and Wales under the Equality Act 2010 to

encourage, train, recruit and promote people from

underrepresented groups (with ‘protected

characteristics’, see below) to help them overcome

disadvantages in competing with other applicants.

In recruitment and promotion, these measures allow

for an employer to select a candidate from a group

underrepresented within their workplace over

candidates not from that group, when the candidates

are of equal merit.

Positive discrimination

Measures which are generally unlawful for helping

under- represented groups (including those with

‘protected characteristics’, see below) overcome

disadvantages in the workforce.

In recruitment this would include hiring a candidate

because they come from an underrepresented group

when they are not the best candidate, or setting

quotas to recruit a specific proportion of staff from a

particular underrepresented group.

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