Kevin Harrington // marketing // blog

Posts Tagged ‘legislation’

Why diversity matters when coming out of a recession …  Embracing Diversity – a white paper from Sodexo

Equality and diversity – a strategic decision in maximising the value of your recovery from recession.

Equality legislation has existed for over 25 years – supporting the rights of individuals from all backgrounds to fair and just employment opportunities. Over the last 10 years we have seen an increase in this legislation, and the formation of the Equality and Human Rights commission. In Spring 2010 the introduction of the Equality Bill brings all of this legislation together under one law. The Equality Bill puts more responsibility on employers, and a legal framework to prosecute those that do not comply.

Treating people with dignity and respect and offering equality of opportunity is good practice for any organisation and should be mainstreamed into all organisations. The timing of the Bill means that, along with flexible and voluntary benefits packages for employees, Diversity is a core subject whilst considering recession recovery strategy.

Diversity is wholly in keeping with the values of our Group – service spirit, team spirit and spirit of progress. I am fully convinced that the diversity of our staff’s ideas, origins, cultures and know-how is a source of innovation and progress, as well as a spur to growth for our Group.”  - Michel Landel – Group CEO Sodexo

No need to register or leave your email address. Use this link to download the full white paper titled Embracing Diversity.

This paper was written by Gamiel Yaffai. Gamiel has spent the last 10 years working to promote the business case for Equality and Diversity. Gamiel specialises in supporting organisations move from policy to practice and has been involved in developing a number of innovations to help organisations along their journey. He has worked with over 150 organisations and is responsible for developing tools such as the Equality Suite and Diversity Online.

The carrot and the stick

A while ago I wrote about how I felt that The Labour Party spent most of their time legislating to get things in the order they wanted. In the world of carrots and sticks this would be the stick.

Today, Lord Phillips, formerly the UK’s most senior judge, has criticised the government for introducing a “ceaseless torrent of legislation.”

The Liberal Democrats have calculated that Labour has introduced over 3,600 new criminal offences since they came to power in 1997.

Do you see why it feels like a stick? I don’t know about you, but I would struggle to think of 3,600 criminal offences. I’ve probably broken a law writing this!

The carrot and the stick

I could not prove the point but I just felt that The Labour Party, New Labour, spent most of their time legislating to get things in the order they wanted. In the world of carrots and sticks this would be the stick.

Then I tripped over a great little quiz about law on the BBC website. One of the questions asked was, “How many Acts of Parliament have been passed since 1801, based on estimates calculated by House of Commons researchers?” The answers is 3,679, but that is only a best guess. Nobody is quite sure.

So, how many have been passed by Labour since it came to power in 1997? The answer is a truly staggering 460. Put another way that is 12% of all legislation since the 1801 Act of Union.

Yes, you can feel the stick now can’t you?