Met Commissioner calls for law change to allow 50:50 recruitment of white and ethnic minority officers
28 March 2014
The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has called for a change in the law to allow for ethnic minority and white police officers to be recruited on a 50:50 basis for a five-year period.
Fri, 28 Mar 2014
The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has called for a change in the law to allow for ethnic minority and white police officers to be recruited on a 50:50 basis for a five-year period.
Speaking on LBC Radio yesterday [27 March], Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said a change in the law was necessary to speed up progress towards London’s police reflecting the diversity of its population.
At the moment, the Met is recruiting one in five officers from ethnic minorities, but Hogan-Hogan said “at that rate we will not get there and I think a 50:50 scheme for a short time would be a good idea… I see no reason why it won’t work”.
A spokesperson for the Met tells Recruiter: “This is a proposal by the Commissioner that requires a temporary change of legislation, so it is not something that we can implement until we get that change.”
Hogan-Howe’s proposal would replicate a temporary change made in employment law in Northern Ireland that allowed one Catholic police officer to be hired for every Protestant. This period ended in September 2011.
At the moment, the law in the UK only allows positive action, which allows employers to take action to redress imbalance in their workforces by, for example, running training events for under-represented groups.
Sandra Kerr, director of Business in the Community’s Race for Opportunity, tells Recruiter: “We fully welcome this commitment to having a more diverse and representative police force. However, the 50:50 is quite a blunt target. We would recommend looking more closely at regional demographics to identify what a representative workforce actually looks like in percentage terms.
“More equal recruitment can be achieved through organisational-wide behaviour and process change in recruitment. This will also be greatly effective in ensuring sustained equal recruitment well into the future.
“We recommend setting targets relevant to the local demographic and putting in place targeted recruitment drives – all of which must then be tracked and monitored for progress. Internal mechanisms also include tackling unconscious bias within the force, by making unconscious bias training compulsory for those responsible for recruitment and for internal career progression.
“We know that a major challenge for young BAME [black, asian and minority ethnic] people is knowing exactly what career paths are available to them. The pre-application piece is absolute critical if the police force wants to make themselves an attractive employer to ethnic minority people.
“Proactive engagement with ethnic minority communities is needed to demonstrate that the police force is an open and fair employer, and making clear what career opportunities are available. Making known to young BAME people what the career prospects and paths are within the force, and giving them access to the right information to do this is essential.”
Carol Shaw, partner at law firm Spratt Endicott, adds: “As it stands the law only allows for positive action in recruitment and promotion where people, with characteristics (such as ethnicity), which are protected under equality laws, are at a disadvantage or where there is low participation.
“In those circumstances, an employer can treat that person more favourably in recruitment and promotion, but only where (1) that person is as qualified as the other candidate (who did not share the protected characteristic), (2) the private sector employer does not have a policy of treating persons who share the protected characteristic more favourably than persons who do not share it, and (3) taking that action is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.”
“There is no obligation on private sector employers to take positive action. An employer cannot use positive action where one candidate is clearly superior or better qualified that the others.”
Speaking on LBC Radio yesterday [27 March], Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said a change in the law was necessary to speed up progress towards London’s police reflecting the diversity of its population.
At the moment, the Met is recruiting one in five officers from ethnic minorities, but Hogan-Hogan said “at that rate we will not get there and I think a 50:50 scheme for a short time would be a good idea… I see no reason why it won’t work”.
A spokesperson for the Met tells Recruiter: “This is a proposal by the Commissioner that requires a temporary change of legislation, so it is not something that we can implement until we get that change.”
Hogan-Howe’s proposal would replicate a temporary change made in employment law in Northern Ireland that allowed one Catholic police officer to be hired for every Protestant. This period ended in September 2011.
At the moment, the law in the UK only allows positive action, which allows employers to take action to redress imbalance in their workforces by, for example, running training events for under-represented groups.
Sandra Kerr, director of Business in the Community’s Race for Opportunity, tells Recruiter: “We fully welcome this commitment to having a more diverse and representative police force. However, the 50:50 is quite a blunt target. We would recommend looking more closely at regional demographics to identify what a representative workforce actually looks like in percentage terms.
“More equal recruitment can be achieved through organisational-wide behaviour and process change in recruitment. This will also be greatly effective in ensuring sustained equal recruitment well into the future.
“We recommend setting targets relevant to the local demographic and putting in place targeted recruitment drives – all of which must then be tracked and monitored for progress. Internal mechanisms also include tackling unconscious bias within the force, by making unconscious bias training compulsory for those responsible for recruitment and for internal career progression.
“We know that a major challenge for young BAME [black, asian and minority ethnic] people is knowing exactly what career paths are available to them. The pre-application piece is absolute critical if the police force wants to make themselves an attractive employer to ethnic minority people.
“Proactive engagement with ethnic minority communities is needed to demonstrate that the police force is an open and fair employer, and making clear what career opportunities are available. Making known to young BAME people what the career prospects and paths are within the force, and giving them access to the right information to do this is essential.”
Carol Shaw, partner at law firm Spratt Endicott, adds: “As it stands the law only allows for positive action in recruitment and promotion where people, with characteristics (such as ethnicity), which are protected under equality laws, are at a disadvantage or where there is low participation.
“In those circumstances, an employer can treat that person more favourably in recruitment and promotion, but only where (1) that person is as qualified as the other candidate (who did not share the protected characteristic), (2) the private sector employer does not have a policy of treating persons who share the protected characteristic more favourably than persons who do not share it, and (3) taking that action is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.”
“There is no obligation on private sector employers to take positive action. An employer cannot use positive action where one candidate is clearly superior or better qualified that the others.”
- Want to comment on this story? The Comment box is at the bottom of the page. Sorry for the glitch but just scroll right down and share your opinions!
