Consultancy
At AEA we understand the need for and the desirability of greater inclusion and diversity in organisations and we also understand the need for parity with other same-sector organisations.
However, in order to protect your operations, your policies and practices must align with the law.
Awareness of incorrect guidance from official sources, referred to in What We Do and our Equality Matters booklet, is necessary. Equally, organisations need to be cognisant of a recent legal case – Forstater v CGD – which confirmed that ‘gender critical’ beliefs are included in the 2010 Equality Act protected characteristic ‘Religion or belief’. Core gender critical beliefs are that sex is dimorphic, biological and immutable. The Judgement also affirmed that ‘gender theory’ belief, as well as lack of belief, are included under the same protected characteristic.
The implications of the Forstater case are wide-ranging, in both service-provision and in the workplace. Facilities for staff are brought into play, there are ramifications for pronouns and lanyards and potential impacts on work relations.
Fairly balancing the conflicting rights of protected characteristics has become even more complex and risks for organisations significantly greater.
In order to avoid workplace disharmony and potential litigation, a review of policies and practices would be prudent.
AEA has appraised the policies of household-name organisations and provided impartial assessment of risk.
We will happily do the same for your organisation.
AEA policy appraisal
In strictest confidence, AEA will:
- scrutinise your EDI policies and practices for legal exposure and other risks
- suggest mitigatory measures to avoid risk
- highlight elements to be changed in order to bring policies and practices within the law
- provide an impartial, objective, comprehensive written report
Comment from clients
“Overall, a brilliant experience from someone who knows the subject, professional, good humoured and a pleasure to work with.”
“Thanks for the very informative and comprehensive session on equality law today. Lots to think about in terms of how we balance everyone’s needs.”
“Very informative. Illuminating info – especially on the law.”
“AEA provided a detailed, informative, insightful, thorough and well referenced report.”
“AEA left no stone unturned and tackled the difficult issues head-on. The expert knowledge of the Equality Act 2010 was clear and helped to dispel many myths that currently exist, while explaining what exemptions apply and how these should be used. AEA provided balanced recommendations in a non-judgemental and helpful way and steered us into a more informed position.”
“Constructive information to take back to colleagues.”
“It was a pleasure to work with Ann Sinnott/AEA and obtain some much-needed advice on an issue that has become both sensitive and complex in recent years. Ann took the time to get to know the business and the issues that affected us, she was thoughtful and asked insightful questions throughout our work together to really understand the reality of our situation. She took the time to understand the previous advice we had received from other parties and she set us on the right track by explaining clearly and informatively where we could run into trouble and how we should prioritise remedying the situation.”