Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals on banning discrimination against someone because of their regional accent.

We have no plans for legislation to introduce new protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 nor is the scope of the Act a particularly good fit for those areas of life where people can experience bad treatment because of their accent.

However, advancing fairness in the workplace is a key priority for this Government. We have made it clear that everyone is treated fairly in the workplace, so that they can thrive and reach their full potential. We recognise that employers stand the best chance of achieving this when they focus their efforts on effective actions which have a proven track record of improving diversity and inclusion.

We have taken on board the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) recommendations, and as part of the UK government’s response ‘Inclusive Britain’, Action 69 is the commitment to establish an Inclusion at Work Panel to examine the evidence to understand what actually works to improve inclusion in the workplace and to share that information with employers so they can take action.

Made up of a panel of academics and practitioners in business it will develop and disseminate effective resources to help employers drive fairness across organisations. This will go beyond just race and ethnicity to identify actions to promote fairness for all in the workplace. It will include a programme of research and workplace trials to provide a robust evidence base and root out poor quality training.

In addition, we have published guidance that sets out the steps that employees can take if they are experiencing bullying or harassment at work, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/workplace-bullying-and-harassment.

Acas provides free and impartial advice for employers and employees, and has also published useful guidance on how to deal with bullying in the workplace that we encourage individuals and employers to consider when dealing with such matters. This is available at: https://www.acas.org.uk/if-youre-treated-unfairly-at-work/being-bullied.