Guide to helping cuts to be ‘fair’

A guide to help public sector employers put fairness and transparency at the heart of the difficult financial decisions ahead has been launched by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The guide sets out what is expected of employers who have to comply with the public sector equality duties: government departments and local authorities have to give “due regard” to the need to eliminate discrimination and promote equality with regard to race, disability and gender.

Although this does not stop redundancies or one group of individuals being affected more than another, the employer must ensure by law that such decisions are made in a fair, transparent and accountable way, considering the needs and the rights of different members of the community.

To download the guidance go to www.equalityhumanrights.com/financialdecisions