Originally published here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created numerous challenges to businesses, including making difficult workforce decisions such as about redundancies, furloughing and return to work. Employers should ensure their decisions meet their legal obligations and do not discriminate. The Equalities and Human Rights Commission has produced guidance for employers.

It’s important that employers take an inclusive, fair and transparent approach to people management, including when adapting HR practices due to current circumstances, for example, adopting virtual recruitment methods.

Employers need to understand the impact the pandemic and related workplace and personal change has on individuals, depending on their background or circumstances. For example, increased caring responsibilities mean flexible working options need to be considered. Reasonable adjustments to enable people to perform at their best need to receive due attention. And considering the health, safety and wellbeing of employees is essential given the pressures and uncertainty people may be experiencing.

Line managers need to feel confident and capable to manage in a different way, such as managing remote teams, and do so in a way which still embraces difference and promotes a sense of inclusion and belonging as well as supporting employee wellbeing.

Find out more about inclusive practice during the pandemic in our CIPD Lab article and our webinar Diversity and inclusion through COVID-19. Our guide on returning to the workplace shows the importance of an inclusive organisation culture where employees feel they are returning to a supportive and caring environment.

The social justice case is based on the belief that everyone should have a right to equal access to employment, training and development based solely on merit. Everyone should have the right to be free of any direct or indirect discrimination and harassment or bullying. This can be described as the right to be treated fairly and the UK law, principally in the Equality Act 2010, sets minimum standards.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published a range of guidance on all aspects of the Equality Act 2010, including a Code of practice on employment. Whilst not legally binding documents, the codes give important guidance on good practice and failure to follow them may be taken into account by tribunals or courts.

For more information on particular aspects, see our various factsheets on age, disability, harassment and bullying, race, religion, sex discrimination and gender reassignment and sexual orientation discrimination.

You can read the complete article here.