Newtownabbey Borough Council - Business: The Equality Commission

In This Section:

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland

Advising Local Businesses

Through the Employment Development Division, The Equailty Commission for Northern Ireland provides a range of materials and support services to promote best practice in employment equality and to help employers meet current and proposed legislative requirements in this field.

The main pieces of anti-discrimination legislation in Northern Ireland cover:

Age
Disability
Gender
Race
Religion/Politics
Sexual orientation

The Equailty Commission for Northern Ireland are actively supporting employers through a variety of activities including:

advising and assisting employers to develop best practice equality employment policies, practices and procedures;
promoting the development of affirmative and positive action strategies across the full range of equality categories;
ensuring compliance with employer duties under the Fair Employment and Treatment (NI) Order 1998, the related monitoring regulations and Article 55 Review provisions;
advising on public sector employment related Equality Impact Assessments under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act;
ensuring that settlement terms, arising from individual cases of discrimination, are followed up with employers and service providers and that any required changes to practices are implemented.

Programmes and Services:

Employer Training Programme
Voluntary Sector Programme
Employer Equality Network
Equality Academy
TU Sector Seminar Programme
“Bridge the Gap” Employability Seminars
Good Practice Guides for Employers
Employer E mail Alerts
Free Enquiry Line 028 90 890 890

Equailty Commission for Northern Ireland are in the process of producing a range of support materials specifically for small businesses to help them to meet the requirements of anti-discrimination and Fair Employment Legislation in Northern Ireland.