There have been “serious race equality related employment problems” within the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), a report has found.
The report, published today, 28 September, by research charity the Public Interest Research Unit (PIRU), questions CRE compliance with its race equality duties under the Race Relations Act, and whether these duties have generally proved an adequate response to institutional discrimination.
The findings of the report revealed that the CRE completed a total of just five race equality impact assessments (REIAs) between 1 April 2001 and 1 June 2007 – an average of under one per year. None of these assessments were for its HR or employment policies or procedures.
The PIRU report, however, identified 22 employment policies and procedures which appear to have required a REIA. These included bullying and harassment and dignity at work policies. Although not all of the 22 policies required a separate REIA, the PIRU has however suggested that the CRE had a 0 per cent compliance rate with completing the assessments.
The news comes as the CRE, a publicly funded, independent organisation that exists to tackle racial discrimination and promote racial equality, closes its doors today for the last time, to be replaced on 1 October by the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR).
Rupert Harwood, the report’s author, said: “It has to be wondered whether breaching of its race equality duties, and the series of complaints of discrimination from its own staff, made it harder for the CRE to demand improvements from other public authorities; and whether it could have provided a better example.”
He added that the early signs are that it will be CRE business as usual at the new CEHR. “We want to make it clear that there will be those watching the watchdog. Once it has had time to settle in, we’ll be conducting an audit of its compliance with its constitutional duties and the range of equality duties.”
The report also indicated that the CRE’s perceived attacks on multiculturalism had left some staff unsure about its commitment to employment diversity and equal opportunities. Had the CRE completed the REIAs, it might have helped to address some of these issues.
HR Zone approached the CRE about the report, but it declined to comment.
