Racial Equality in the Workplace: What You Need to Know
7 February 2025
It’s Race Equality Week, and we’re supporting the campaign to make every action count. The campaign strives to address the barriers to race equality in the workplace, providing resources for businesses and individuals to educate themselves and others. During this blog, we’ll explore their learnings, address the issues, and provide insight into how we can abolish race discrimination in the workplace.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that "everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms, without distinction of any kind, such as race and colour, among others.” It's been 77 years since the UDHR made this declaration, yet racial discrimination still impacts people worldwide.
What is Race Equality Week?
The 2025 theme for Race Equality Week is that every action counts. Through education and awareness, we can make small changes that will make a significant impact. Race Equality Matters has set a 5-Day Challenge with short courses on the following topics:
- Intersectionality: The concept of intersectionality is to recognise that we’re just more than one thing. Our race, gender, sexuality, and culture all form part of our experiences, identity, self-perception and how others perceive us.
- Recognising Privilege: Recently, people have used ‘privilege’ in a negative context, but as the campaign tells us, "privilege isn’t something we can control, but we can choose how we use it."
- Inclusive Language: Changing our mindset to stamp out non-inclusive language by encouraging ourselves to think about the words we use. From how we greet a room full of different people to how we describe a colleague, using inclusive language helps.
- Code Switching / Masking: We all change in different situations depending on the circumstances. Masking and code-switching with people of colour and ethnic minorities, in particular, are often used to avoid negative connotations or stereotypes. They’re unable to be their authentic selves.
By going through these lessons and making the day-five promise and commitment, we can phase out discrimination and create a culture of inclusivity.
Why Racial Equality is Important
Racial equality is essential inside and outside of the workplace, and it’s something that we’re still working towards globally. As the Race Equality Matters campaign confirms - we still have a way to go.
The Laws on Racial Discrimination in the Workplace
Racial discrimination in the workplace has been illegal in the UK since 1976 under the Race Relations Act. The Equality Act 2010 has since replaced the Race Relations Act and includes race as one of the nine protected characteristics.
As ACAS clarifies, within the Equality Act 2010, race is defined or made up of one or more of the following:
- Colour
- Ethnic origin or ethnic group
- National origin
- Nationality
- Racial group
Employers are legally bound to follow the Act or risk facing an employment tribunal or prosecution.
Types of Discrimination
Under the Equality Act 2010, there are multiple definitions of what constitutes discrimination: direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, associative discrimination, perceptive discrimination, victimisation, and harassment.
Indirect Discrimination
While hostility exists, on the whole, most racial discrimination in the workplace falls under the category of indirect discrimination. According to the CIPD, indirect discrimination is when a business applies a provision, criterion or practice to all and:
- It puts a group with a protected characteristic at a disadvantage when compared with another group.
- Disadvantages specific individuals.
If an employer cannot show that their actions are a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, they may also be guilty of indirect discrimination. For example, suppose an employer specifies that job applicants can only be recruited from a particular area. In that case, they could be putting applicants of certain ethnic origins at a disadvantage and excluding them from the recruitment process.
How Do You Show Equality in the Workplace?
Creating a culture of equality takes a review from top to bottom, exploring policies and working practices to eliminate anything considered discriminatory. Once you’ve made any necessary amendments, you can approach creating an inclusive culture from a place of authenticity.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I)
Indirect discrimination and equity are connected. Unlike the Equality Act of 2010, an organisation has no legal requirement to follow or create a DE&I policy but must act within the law. It is best practice to have a DE&I policy, though, and it will improve how future employees, partners, and clients regard your business.
What stands out about the definition given for indirect discrimination is the concept of applying the same ‘provision, criterion or practice’ to all employees. This is the definition of equality because you’re treating everyone the same. The Equality Act 2010 champions equal opportunity, which requires an equitable approach.
Understanding Equity
This image, created by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, clarifies equity. It shows that equality uses the ‘same for all’ approach, whereas equity factors in the individual circumstances and needs, giving people the correct provisions to enable them to succeed. In this context, the ‘equal’ approach would be indirect discrimination because it:
- Puts a protected characteristic at a disadvantage when compared with another group/individual.
- Puts more than one person at a disadvantage.
- Is not a proportionate means to achieving a legitimate aim.
The equitable alternative considers each person’s needs and provides the appropriate provision to allow them to achieve the same goal. While the image addresses physical differences, the principle applies to all protected characteristics, including race.
By focusing on a robust Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policy and embedding it into your company ethos, you’ll create an environment that embodies fair treatment, access, and opportunity by eliminating the barriers that may hinder success.
What is Workplace Equality?
Workplace equality is when all employees are treated fairly, without any form of discrimination, and you give all employees and applicants equal and equitable opportunities. A workplace is equal when all employees are paid the same for doing the same job, differences are accepted and celebrated, and people are safe to be their authentic selves.
What the Statistics Tell Us
The Equality and Human Rights Commission published its Race Report statistics in 2020, outlining what they call a “worrying picture of race inequality” in education, crime, living standards, health care, and employment.
- In the case of employment, the key stats are as follows: Black workers educated to degree level earn 23.1% less than white workers with equivalent qualifications.
- In Britain, a significantly lower percentage of ethnic minorities, African or Caribbean or Black people and those of mixed ethnicity worked as managers, directors, and senior officials, compared with White people.
A gap remains, but the ONS states that it has narrowed to its smallest level since 2012 in England and Wales. There’s still a way to go, but this shows we’re moving in the right direction.
Who is Responsible for Equality and Diversity in the Workplace?
Ultimately, the responsibility to ensure the workplace remains free from discrimination falls on the employer. It’s they who the law would hold accountable for any infringements of the Equality Act 2010.
We believe that when you live and breathe the ethos of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, you take what you ‘must do’ to the next level, creating a truly diverse, inclusive, equal, and equitable workplace where all can thrive without boundaries. As the Race Equality Week Campaign tells us, every action counts. Every single person in the workplace can make a difference, and you empower all employees to call out discriminatory behaviour.
The Pluxee Promise
At Pluxee, we promise to be all in, creating an environment where you’re #FreeToBeYourself. We're driving change, defining our strategy across four pillars:
- Achieving gender equity.
- Fostering a multi-generational workplace.
- Support people with disabilities and ensure accessibility.
- Championing diverse origins.
Championing diverse origins: We’re proud to support diversity in all its forms, including social and cultural diversity, in a way that respects the legal requirements and cultural contexts of each country where we operate. Our DE&I mission is all about creating a space where everyone belongs.
Join us in making work a place where everyone can feel they belong.
