In Short
- Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws protect employees from discrimination.
- EEO applies to recruitment, promotions, and workplace policies.
- Breaching EEO laws can lead to legal action and reputational damage.
Tips for Businesses
Ensure your workplace policies and practices comply with Equal Employment Opportunity laws. Provide training to managers and staff to prevent discrimination. Regularly review your hiring and promotion processes to maintain a fair and inclusive work environment.
As an employer, you would recognise the importance of treating employees equally. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is the principle that everyone should have equal access to employment opportunities based on merit. This access to equal employment should be without fear of discrimination or harassment. Therefore, many Australian employers develop EEO policies to promote workplace diversity and create a safe workplace for all employees. Likewise, all employers should have such a policy, regardless of the business’ size. This article explains the concept of EEO and what Australian employers may want to include in an EEO policy.
How Does Equal Employment Opportunity Work?
The Australian Federal Government has passed numerous laws which aim to protect people from discrimination within the workplace. These include the:
- Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth);
- Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth);
- Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth);
- Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth); and
- Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth).
These laws, alongside other state-based anti-discrimination legislation, are the primary source of EEO obligations. Accordingly, employers who hire, manage or dismiss employees must not discriminate based on a variety of attributes, including:
- race;
- ethnicity;
- colour;
- sex;
- sexual orientation;
- gender identity;
- relationship status;
- family or carer responsibilities;
- pregnancy;
- mental or physical disability;
- religion;
- political opinion; or
- age.
Additionally, employers must not dismiss employees or take adverse action (such as a demotion or disciplinary proceedings) against them based on an attribute that is covered by anti-discrimination laws.
Importantly, you should note that discrimination can occur directly or indirectly. Your business may collect equal opportunity data to ensure that you are not engaging in discriminatory practices.
Indirect discrimination may appear fair to everyone but disadvantages a group of people who share a protected characteristic. Examples of indirect discrimination may include height stipulations that are not specific to the inherent requirements of the job. This may directly impact a number of women or people of certain ethnic backgrounds who do not meet those requirements.
Additionally, some employers in certain sectors may have to follow laws that show their commitment to EEO. For example, under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth), some Australian employers must report on how they promote gender equality in the workplace.
As an employer, understand your essential employment obligations with this free LegalVision factsheet.
Why Should Employers Care About Equal Employment Opportunities?
Employers who promote EEO attract more diverse workers, improve worker productivity and promote a healthy workplace culture.
Furthermore, employers can minimise liability in the event of a related claim from an employee by taking all reasonable steps to prevent discrimination in the workplace. Indeed, you should note that the law will usually hold employers responsible for any discrimination, harassment and bullying of employees by others in the company. However, if employers can show that they took reasonable steps to minimise risk in the workplace, they may not be held liable.
Continue reading this article below the formWhat Should Employers Include in an Equal Employment Opportunity Policy?
An EEO policy should set out how the employer will comply with all EEO obligations. Indeed, the EEO policy should be included in an Employee Handbook or policy suite and given to all employees as part of the onboarding process. Furthermore, an employer may also hold regular training sessions to ensure all employees are aware of their EEO obligations.
Here are some critical areas to cover when drafting a policy.
Application
The policy should apply to:
- all employees, including those who work full-time, part-time, casually or temporarily;
- employees at work, at work-related events or company functions or activities happening outside of work; and
- all employment processes, including hiring, training, and dismissing employees.
In addition, the policy may highlight how the company meets their obligations under the relevant anti-discrimination laws.
Responsibilities
The policy can set out who should be responsible for certain EEO processes. For example, if a manager does not resolve an initial complaint, a Human Resources representative may be the next escalation point.
Indeed, managers and more senior employees should have greater responsibility to ensure the workplace is free from discrimination, harassment or bullying. The policy may also express additional expectations regarding staff management and resolving workplace issues for senior managers to implement.
Recruitment and Dismissal
Importantly, an EEO policy may highlight the importance of merit-based hiring and performance management without regard to attributes such as race, sex or gender. This means that you may not take these protected characteristics into account when you are making hiring decisions or choosing who to promote. This is because such discrimination can lead to bias and inequality and ultimately create a less inclusive and welcoming workplace.
If your employees do not feel as if they are valued based on the standard of their work, morale can drop and they may not feel as if they should bother trying to perform their work to a high standard. In extreme case, an exclusive and intolerant workplace culture can cause employees to seek employment elsewhere.
Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying
Your EEO policy should address discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Therefore, employers should consider including details on:
- the definition of discrimination and harassment;
- what steps the business is taking to minimise these issues in the workplace;
- a grievances policy that allows employees to make a complaint concerning these matters; and
- a process to handle and resolve complaints.
Promoting Equal Opportunities
An EEO policy may highlight how the employer addresses equal opportunity in the workplace. For example, the policy can state if there are:
- workplace flexibility policies for parents or those with carer responsibilities;
- equal training opportunities for men and women in the workplace; or
- reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities.
Key Takeaways
Indeed, an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policy can help promote diversity and minimise discrimination, harassment and bullying in the workplace. Therefore, a well-written policy can provide clear procedures in case of a complaint. You can use an EEO policy to set out your expectations and standards that employees must adhere to. The policy may also clarify workplace rights and responsibilities for employees. Further, it may provide further information on resolving issues and direct employees to their complaints process or grievance policy.
If you need help implementing an EEO policy, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. You will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. So call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
EEO is an employment practice where all employees have the right to be treated equally in all aspects of their jobs.
Anti-discrimination laws in Australia include the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, Disability Discrimination Act 1992, Age Discrimination Act 2004 and Racial Discrimination Act 1975. However, in addition to these, there are a variety of state-based anti-discrimination laws.
An EEO policy should set out how the employer will comply with all EEO obligations. Therefore, the EEO policy should be included in an Employee Handbook and given to all employees as part of the onboarding process.
We appreciate your feedback – your submission has been successfully received.
