Equality and diversity in the workplace. Read about rules and rights here

Equality and diversity in the workplace

Equality and diversity in the workplace are current topics that are often debated.

That is why we have prepared an article that can make you more knowledgeable about the following topics: 

• Which legislation applies in relation to equality in companies and public institutions
• What guidelines have been established in the field of discrimination in the workplace

What is equality in the labour market?

According to §1 of the Equality Act, women and men must be treated equally in public, general and business activities. Thus, the law obliges all public authorities and workplaces to do their best to promote equality between men and women, including equal integration, equal influence and equal opportunities in all functions of society based on the equal value of women and men.

The Equality Act also helps to counteract direct and indirect discrimination on grounds of gender and to combat harassment and sexual harassment from employers and employees. The law also clarifies that complaints about violations of the prohibition against discrimination based on gender are dealt with by the Equal Treatment Board, where persons whose rights are violated can receive compensation. 

What does the legislation say about discrimination in the workplace?

Discrimination takes place if an employee is treated worse than the other employees because of race, age, skin colour or religion. The Discrimination Act and the Equal Treatment Act contain prohibitions against direct and indirect discrimination, where direct discrimination is never permitted. For example, it is not legal to dismiss employees because they have a particular sexual orientation. 

Indirect discrimination, on the other hand, can be demands made by the employer that are not factual in relation to the work to be performed and the qualification requirement is targeted at a specific group of people. An example of this could be language requirements. This requirement may affect persons with an ethnic origin other than Danish, which is why it may become a matter of assessment whether the requirement is reasonable in relation to the work task.

 According to the legislation, it is the employer's responsibility to ensure that employees are not treated differently or discriminated against in the workplace. In addition, the occupational safety and health representative plays an important role when it comes to countering and preventing discrimination.

What types of discrimination are distinguished in the workplace?

Discrimination can take 4 different forms:

• Direct discrimination: It is direct discrimination if an employee is treated worse than another employee in a similar situation, e.g. if a man and a woman perform exactly the same job, but the man is paid a higher salary than the woman
• Indirect discrimination: Indirect discrimination can be experienced if an apparently neutral criterion or practice puts the employee at a disadvantage compared to other employees, unless it is objectively justified. An example of this could, as previously mentioned, be a job advertisement that requires individuals who speak a certain language
• Harassment: It is harassment if a behaviour aims to violate a person's dignity, including establishing a hostile, humiliating and unpleasant climate for the person who is subjected to harassment. This could be, for example, if the employer slanders his employees
• Instructions on discrimination: This may be the case if the employer or employees assign instructions to discriminate against other employees in the company. An instruction on discrimination can be if an employer asks a middle manager to hire "nice people"

It is important as an employer to take care of cases relating to discrimination for several reasons:

• Firstly, it is crucial that employees in the company experience a safe and professional environment where it is possible to carry out their work without having to worry about discrimination and harassment
• Discrimination create a bad work culture and can also give the company a bad reputation
• Discrimination problems can become legal cases, for example if an employee is exposed to direct discrimination

What is diversity in the workplace?

Diversity in the workplace is about having a representation of different groups of people in the company with different genders, ethnicities and educational backgrounds.

It can be a valuable resource in the workplace that can contribute to the company's success and growth. A diverse workplace can often benefit from the cultural capital of several employees in the form of skills and knowledge that can benefit the business. In addition, it can for example strengthen competitiveness and new business strategies and ideas can be formulated.

A company can also benefit from focusing on diversity, as it can strengthen the reputation of the workplace and attract new talent. Diversity can also be a parameter that customers, business partners and stakeholders value highly.

If you would like other insights into how to create a good working environment, see here: