If you have a diverse workforce, it’s very important to consider what this is going to mean for your company. You want to make sure that you have the correct policies in place and that you don’t make any mistakes that may violate their rights as employees.
This is true for all employees, of course, but a diverse workforce can raise some more challenges because there may be legal stipulations that you’ve not been exposed to before. The more you can know in advance, the better you can handle this scenario.
Avoiding accidental discrimination
For instance, did you know that a dress code can sometimes be seen as a type of discrimination? You are certainly allowed to use a dress code if you want, but there are situations in which workers may complain if it applies only to one group and not another. For instance, limiting what certain people can wear may qualify as religious discrimination or even racial discrimination.
If your workforce has a diverse age, you also want to keep that in mind. You need to make sure that you don’t discriminate against workers who are over 40 years old. Even if it seems like a better idea to promote a younger worker or something of this nature, you want to make sure that you’re not giving out that promotion strictly based on the person’s age, or you could be discriminating against a more qualified candidate who is simply older and more experienced.
If you do find yourself facing any sort of dispute due to a mistake or an error in handling this workforce, or even if you believe you did nothing wrong, then you need to make sure you understand your legal options so that you can protect your company’s future.
