The EHRC has submitted a report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, offering an updated analysis racial discrimination in Great Britain, including workplace rights.
The report revealed that Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Black groups in Great Britain experience the highest unemployment rates, with Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups also facing the largest pay disparities compared to White British workers. Employment gaps were particularly significant among Pakistani and Bangladeshi women. In contrast, Chinese, Indian, and White Irish workers earned more on average than White British workers.
Additionally, the report found that ethnic minority workers were disproportionately employed in insecure roles such as agency work, casual jobs, seasonal work, and zero-hours contracts.
The EHRC has put forward recommendations to the UK and Welsh Governments to tackle these disparities, including:
- Improving the evidence base on employment gaps.
- Requiring public sector employers in England and private sector employers across England, Scotland, and Wales with over 250 employees to monitor and report on recruitment, retention, and progression by ethnicity, alongside mandatory action plans to address gaps and inequalities.
- For the Welsh Government to ensure that it advances its commitment to tackling the ethnicity pay gap, as outlined in its ‘Programme for Government’.
These recommendations can now be considered alongside the labour government’s plans for reforms to race discrimination laws, including the right to equal pay for ethnic minorities and mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting for large employers (250 or more employees).
