2009-04-01

By Editor, CIR

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and other business groups are mounting a last-ditch campaign to oppose the government's planned equalities bill, reports the Financial Times.

The paper says the proposed new legal power could require employers to disclose details of the gender, race and disability breakdown of their workforce.

It reports that equalities minister Harriet Harman wants private sector employers to improve their reporting of indicators such as the gender pay gap and the proportion of ethnic minority and disabled staff employed.

However, her proposals have sparked tension with business secretary Lord Mandelson, who wants proposed new employment regulations such as the extension of paid maternity leave either delayed or scrapped because of the economic downturn.

Although he has won certain concessions, the bill could still include a new reserve power enabling the government to force medium and large private sector employers to disclose detailed “equality indicators” in their annual reports and accounts.

The Confederation of British Industry has also argued that the government should not consider introducing such a ''regulatory big stick'' during a recession.

Its deputy director-general, John Cridland, said the proposed indicators could be used to ''name and shame, in a way that's very unfair to business.

''It measures the wrong thing. It reflects wider issues, such as career choices, and doesn't tell the story about what the individual company is doing,'' he added.

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