Watchdog accused of bias towards bosses in race discrimination paper
An Equal Opportunities Commission document issued to explain the racial discrimination law has been lambasted as merely an instrument to help employers avoid liability.
In a bid to help people understand the Race Discrimination Ordinance (RDO) passed in July, the watchdog released its Code of Practice on Employment last month, but the Society for Community Organisation said yesterday it had major flaws and failed to promote equality.
'Written well, such a code could serve to provide practical guidance on how to prevent unlawful racial discrimination and achieve equal opportunities. It could also help employers and employees understand their rights and responsibilities,' the concern group said.
'However, the code fails in all these aspects and primarily serves as an instrument to explain to employers how they can avoid liability under the law.'
The group said the code was not in the spirit of promoting equal opportunity and good practice.
The concern group was upset that the code only served as an explanation of the law written from the employers' perspective, and focused on how employers could escape liability. 'It does not emphasise what rights and responsibilities employees have,' the group said, adding that instead it was aimed at ensuring that employers do not break the law.
The group cited paragraph 5.4 of the watchdog's document: 'If an employee has done an unlawful act for which the employer would be held liable, the employer may escape liability by showing he or she had taken reasonable practicable steps to prevent the employee from doing so.'
The group also noted the code did not feature other fields covered by the ordinance.
The commission said the code was still a draft and all opinions were welcome until December 8. A spokeswoman said it was scheduled to be in place by March or April.
