Insight 26 April 2022

The importance of fair employment and treatment of workers

The fair employment and treatment of workers is very important to the success of your business and it can form a part of your corporate social responsibility. You have both a moral and legal responsibility to make sure people are hired based solely on their skills, qualifications and personal merit. Prejudice and discrimination should have no place in your recruitment processes. It is also very important to treat your employees fairly and equally at all times.

The importance of fair employment and treatment of workers goes beyond it being your moral duty to implement fair practices, so we’ve outlined some of the reasons why this should be a priority for your business.

Fair employment and treatment can boost your brand image

Customers, clients, investors, workers and potential business partners usually want to make socially-conscious decisions about the businesses they work with or support. If your business has a reputation for failing to implement fair employment practices or treat workers equally, your brand image will take a hit. As a result, you may not be able to make the sales or land the contracts you need, you may struggle to find willing investors and business partners and recruitment can become more difficult and costly.

However, when you ensure the fair employment and treatment of workers, you can boost your brand image and position your business as one that people want to support.

Improve employee satisfaction and retention

If employees feel your recruitment processes are unfair or the way your business treats workers is unequal, you’re likely to have a big problem with employee satisfaction and morale. This can hinder productivity, leading to reduced profitability, and employee-retention rates are likely to drop too.

By making sure you treat workers equally and consider job candidates based solely on their personal skills, qualifications and abilities, you can improve employee satisfaction and retention. You’ll benefit from a happy, productive workforce that wants to stick around long-term, reducing your recruitment and training costs.

Demonstrate zero tolerance for corruption and bribery

When you ensure fair employment and treatment in your workplace, you demonstrate zero tolerance for corruption and bribery. People should be hired and given opportunities because they’re right for the job, not because of bribes or personal relationships. They certainly shouldn’t be hired for immoral reasons such as the opportunity to exploit someone with low wages or unfavourable working conditions.

Having strict recruitment policies and procedures and making sure workers are treated equally can deter people from entering into corrupt practices or bribery.

Comply with important legislation on the fair employment and treatment of employees

The fair employment and treatment of employees is required by certain laws and regulations. As well as benefiting your business, fair practices are also a case of compliance. For example, there are employment and labour laws that detail employees’ rights to fair treatment and equal opportunities. There’s also the Anti-Bribery Act 2010 and — for those in Northern Ireland — the Fair Employment and Treatment Order 1998.

Employees must be suitably skilled and qualified for their roles

Fair employment opportunities are important for making sure the right people are chosen for certain roles. They should be suitably skilled, qualified and experienced. When you choose the right person for the job, your business can benefit from the employment of new talent, and you’re likely to experience increased productivity and profitability. With new talent, skills and ideas on board, your business is likely to move in a positive direction.

CHAS can help you ensure fair employment and treatment throughout your organisation. CHAS clients can benefit from contractor-matching and sourcing services that help you find the best contractor for the job based on compliance and competence.

CHAS contractors can take advantage of risk-management resources and certification schemes that can help you improve your social responsibility and achieve compliance in up to 12 areas of risk assessment — many relating to the recruitment and treatment of workers.

Get in touch with our friendly team to find out how we can help you mitigate risks, ensure compliance and adopt best practices throughout your organisation and supply chain.