Black and Minority Ethnic People: Workplace Issues

Lord Polak Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd May 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Polak (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate the Minister on this timely debate. I also congratulate my noble friend Lady McGregor-Smith and wish her well in her important review. I am no expert in this field, but I have some knowledge of issues faced in the workplace by some practising members of the Jewish community. In her opening remarks the Minister spoke about English being spoken, or perhaps not being spoken, by far too many people. It reminded me of visits to absorption centres—they sound like difficult places, but they are exactly the opposite—in Israel. When people immigrate to Israel, the first six to nine months are spent at an absorption centre where they are taught how to queue at a bank and how to go to the post office but, most importantly, they learn to speak Hebrew and are immersed in speaking Hebrew. That is something that we in this country have lost. When immigrants come into this country we should immerse them in speaking English.

I recall being on a candidates weekend to go on a list of prospective candidates for the party back in 1993. My sponsors suggested that I should not have to do a weekend. Let me explain. I am an Orthodox Jew; I do not travel on the Sabbath. In February, in the winter, the Sabbath comes in very early. I arrived with 48 other people and was told that we had a 1,000-word piece of writing to do. I looked at my watch and I realised that I had 23 minutes before the Sabbath came in to do my 1,000 words. I remember, too, that there was a mock debate on the Saturday morning. Everyone was taking notes except me; I was not allowed to take notes because it was my Sabbath. I got through the weekend, but this debate reminded me of the difficulties that one can sometimes have.

The British Jewish community, via the Board of Deputies of British Jews, has produced The Employer’s Guide to Judaism. It was produced in the belief that education is the best way to combat prejudice. The introduction talks of that problem that, for the “fully observant Jew”, Jewish law provides a “central model” for how to lead life. The guide states:

“This means that it is not possible for the observant Jew simply to waive, for example, observance of the Sabbath”,

as I described in my experience from 1993. It continues:

“However, in most cases reasonable adjustments”,

can be made and there can be,

“no conflict between being a fully observant Jew and a fully contributing member of the workforce … Many jobs require set working hours and this can cause a clash with the Sabbath”,

or the Jewish festivals.

The pamphlet has a headline “Jewish practices” and it goes on to explain them. It then has a section on the distribution of Jewish festivals around the calendar year. In my previous work in the 1980s, when I was education director of the Board of Deputies, I spent most of my time working with examination boards. In the May/June time there is a Jewish festival called Shavuot; it is two days for Orthodox Jews. Again, it is a time when people cannot write or travel. I spent time with all the examination boards talking about the problem of Jewish students doing GCSEs or A-levels when they fell on Shavuot. By the time I had finished my work, three examination boards—I think there were five at the time—did not have any exams on Shavuot at all. That is because we talked to them well in advance—years in advance.

The pamphlet carries on with “clothing and modesty”, “food”, “prayer”, “bereavement” and “UK law”. It ends with “additional human resources guidance” and it talks about the recruitment process. It says:

“It is imperative that discrimination does not occur at any point during the employment process, including during the interview before employment, or during the notice period at the end of employment. Employers must not discriminate against a Jewish candidate on the basis of their religion or religious requirements”.

One can insert any religious grouping instead of “Jewish” at this point. It continues:

“Employers should not ask personal questions, including those relating to religious affiliation, unless they are directly relevant”.

It goes on to talk about the “employee already in employment” and “conflict resolution”. This I found most interesting. It states:

“Managing time off for religious observance, in particular the festivals, can cause a problem in professions where it is expected that annual leave will be taken at certain periods of the year, most notably in schools and universities. There are practical solutions that can be used in solving this, including running extracurricular activities or trips to compensate for the time lost, scheduling lessons”.

But the key is that the information is given early.

The last point is on anti-Semitic discrimination in the workplace. This is a rather topical issue. The Community Security Trust reported that, in 2015, 26 anti-Semitic incidents took place in the workplace. That is 26 too many. The pamphlet says:

“Antisemitic discrimination can occur in the workplace in several contexts, including in the recruitment or promotion processes, in interactions between colleagues and from external sources, especially in roles involving interaction with customers. Whilst these instances cannot always be avoided completely, it is good practice for employers to supply adequate training to their staff on Judaism”.

I could add here “adequate training to their staff on Hinduism”, or on Islam.

Through education and information, some of the issues that I have raised can be dealt with. I recommend that my noble friends the Minister and Lady McGregor-Smith take a look at this guide. It may be helpful for other communities in Britain. Widespread distribution to the public and private sectors could be an extra piece of ammunition in ensuring diversity in the workplace.