“Let’s eliminate the laws that harm, we create the laws that empower.” Under this motto, March 1 commemorates the Zero Discrimination Dayoriented to alert about laws in the world that create differences in the treatment between people and seek their elimination.
And, precisely, the workplace is one of the fields in which this discrimination can occur. It can be presented through any conduct or act that excludes or prefers workers for prohibited reasons: origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomic level and others; which causes an affectation to the equality of opportunities or treatment to which every person is entitled in their workplace.
In this regard, employers have a series of obligations to guarantee the eradication of discrimination in access, duration and termination of work, as explained and detailed by Enrique Arias, associate lawyer of the Miranda & Amado Labor Area.
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Obligations in access to employment
- Employers must make offers of employment that do not contain discriminatory requirements.
- Likewise, the selection processes must guarantee accessibility in the facilities in which they are carried out, implementing the reasonable adjustments that are applicable.
Obligations during the term of the employment contract
- By the principle of equality, the employer has the duty to treat all workers who are in similar situations the same, but if they are not, they can treat them differently; likewise, he must not use discriminatory grounds. These rules apply to any topic or aspect during the employment relationship.
- In addition, there are particular provisions, for example, in salary matters. Thus, employers must: carry out a diagnosis of their remuneration status, identifying the existence of unjustified wage gaps between men and women and implementing mechanisms to eliminate them; and, implement the salary policy, which regulates the general criteria for the management of staff remuneration, as well as having a table of categories and functions, which organizes the jobs according to objective criteria and the needs of the employer.
In the termination of the employment relationship
- Acts of discrimination are considered acts of hostility, which are comparable to dismissal and have protection and reparation measures.
- Likewise, dismissal based on a discriminatory reason of any kind is considered null dismissal, in view of which the worker may request his or her reinstatement in the job, unless he or she opts for compensation for arbitrary dismissal. .
Responsibilities in case of non-compliance
- Employers who fail to comply with the obligations on non-discrimination in employment will be exposed to:
- Fines imposed by Sunafil, for committing very serious infractions in terms of labor relations.
- Judicial processes of the affected personnel, in which they request the payment of compensation for damages, reimbursement of salaries and benefits, reinstatement in employment, among others according to each case.
recommendations
It is important for employers to review the internal regulations and policies that deal with employment conditions, that is, promotions, bonuses and others, to eliminate provisions that are discriminatory for any reason.
In the same way, train leaders, bosses and managers so that they carry out management free of acts of discrimination and avoid responsibilities for employers.
All the actions that are carried out will allow a good work environment, with motivated and more productive personnel.
