The European Intercultural Workplace: United Kingdom

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The University of Westminster EIW Project Team gratefully recognises the support and advice received in this project. This report is a brief survey of the current situation in the UK, as shown in publications by institutions, media and the government. The report forms part of a package of case studies and national reports which contribute to a set of DVD based training materials, all drawing on the expertise of the international membership of the European Integrated Workplace Project. Updates and additional material are welcome, and any misrepresentations or wrong attributions will be corrected as soon as they are known. European Intercultural Workplace Project Partnership (ref 2004 IE/04/C/F/TH-81200) Project coordinator Dublin City University (Ireland) Partners

• European Centre for Education and Training - ECET (Bulgaria) • Intertrain (Bulgaria) • Institut für Projektbegleitung und Kompetenzentwicklung (Germany) • Western Greece Development Centre – WEGRE (Greece) • The Adult-Education College of Västra Nylands (Finland) • Conform – Consorzio Formazione Manageriale Collina Liguorini (Italy) • Mangfold I Arbeidslivet (Norway) • Academy of Humanities & Economics in Łódz (Poland) • University of Gothenburg (Sweden) • University of Westminster (United Kingdom)

The University of Westminster The contents of this report are not part of the Diversity Strategy of the University of Westminster, which can be found at www.wmin.ac.uk/page-99. The University of Westminster EIW Project Team

Professor Emeritus Jack Lonergan (Leader) Ziad Ayad (Canada) Constantine Buhayer (Greece) Sara Ileana Amador Compta (Cuba Hui Dong (China) Adam Duncan (UK)

Barry Tomalin (UK) Ana Vlaisavljevic (Serbia) Steve Walsh (UK) Rob Williams (UK) Sergei Yurkov (US)

Contact: j.lonergan@westminster.ac.uk University of Westminster, 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2UW, United Kingdom

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Copyright © 2007 European Intercultural Workplace (EIW) Project partnership. All rights reserved. Reproduction and distribution of all or part of this publication is authorized, except for commercial purposes, provided the EIW Project partnership is cited as the source. This project has been carried out with the support of the European Community. The content of this project does not necessarily reflect the position of the European Community, nor does it involve any responsibility on the part of the European Community.

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CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

INTRODUCTION 1

1 GENERAL BACKGROUND & NATIONAL CONTEXT 4

1.1 Historical development leading to current situation 4 1.1.1 Introduction 4 1.1.2 Recent History 4 1.1.3 Comparison with Europe 5 1.1.4 Total net migration from outside the EU 6 1.1.5 Family Settlement 6 1.1.6 Illegal Immigrants 7 1.1.7 Asylum Seekers 8 1.1.8 Work Permits 8 1.1.9 Economic Considerations 9 1.1.10 Students 10 1.1.11 The Legal Position 10 1.1.12 Conclusions 12

1.2 Government Response 12 1.2.1 Legislation 12 1.2.2 Citizenship Test 14 1.2.3 The Commission for Racial Equality 15

1.3 Civic response 16 1.3.1 The voluntary sector 16 1.3.2 Business community response 17

1.4 Academic community response 19

1.5 Media response 21 1.5.1 Race in the Media 21 1.5.2 Complaints against the Media 22

1.6 Summary of Responses to the Situation 22

2 PRIVATE, PUBLIC & EDUCATION SECTORS 24

2.1 Cultural Diversity in the Private Sector. 24 2.1.1 Race for Opportunity 24 2.1.2 Ethnicity and Employment 25 2.1.3 Ethnicity and Management 25 2.1.4 Ethnicity and Earnings 27 2.1.5 Some Example from Business 27 2.1.6 Some Examples from the Retail Sector 29 2.1.7 Some Examples from the Transport Sector 32 2.1.8 An example of bad practice in the Private Sector 33 2.1.9 Summary of the Private Sector 34

2.2 Cultural Diversity in the Public Sector in the UK 34

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2.2.1 Policy Changes 34 2.2.2 The National Health Service 35 2.2.3 Social Services 39 2.2.4 The Benefits Agency 40 2.2.5 The Police 42 2.2.6 The Armed Forces 45 2.2.7 Local Government: Haringey Borough Council 47 2.2.8 Examples of bad practice in the Public Sector 49 2.2.9 Summary of the Public Sector 51

2.3 Cultural Diversity in Education in the UK 51 2.3.1 Teachers 51 2.3.2 Parents 53 2.3.3 Students 54 2.3.4 Government Policies in Education 56 2.3.5 Policy Background 56 2.3.6 Current Policy 57 2.3.7 Inspection 58 2.3.8 Response by Institutions 59 2.3.9 Primary (ages 5 – 11) 60 2.3.10 Secondary (ages 11 – 16 and 19) 61 2.3.11 Higher Education (ages 18+) 64 2.3.12 Summary of the Education Sector 66

3 CONCLUSIONS FROM THE SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS 67

PART 2: CASE STUDIES 74

1 INTRODUCTION TO UK CASE STUDIES 74

1.1 Aims of the Case Studies 74

1.2 Selection of Case Study Subjects 74

1.3 Methodology 74

2 CASE STUDY - RETAILING 77

2.1 Introduction 77

2.2 Methodology 77

2.3 Issues and Challenges 78 2.3.1 Language and Communication 78 2.3.2 Relationships with Co-Workers 79 2.3.3 Time Keeping 81 2.3.4 Hierarchies 82 2.3.5 Gender 82

2.4 Good Practice 83 2.4.1 Language and Communication 83 2.4.2 Relationships with Co-Workers 83 2.4.3 Time Keeping 84 2.4.4 Hierarchies 84 2.4.5 Gender 84

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2.5 Recommendations 84 2.5.1 Language and Communication 84 2.5.2 Relationships with Co-Workers 85 2.5.3 Time Keeping 85 2.5.4 Hierarchies 85

3 CASE STUDY - HOSPITALITY 86

3.1 Introduction/Background 86

3.2 Methodology 87

3.3 Issues 87 3.3.1 Language 87 3.3.2 Attitudes at Work 88 3.3.3 Communication Style 90 3.3.4 The Provision of Food 90 3.3.5 The Acceptance of Religions 90 3.3.6 Relationships with Co-Workers 91

3.4 Good Practice 92 3.4.1 Language and Communication 92 3.4.2 Time Keeping 92 3.4.3 Racism 92

3.5 Recommendations 93 3.5.1 Religion 93 3.5.2 Working Relationships 93 3.5.3 Diversity Policy 94

4 CASE STUDY – THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER 95

4.1 Introduction / Background 95

4.2 Methodology 96

4.3 Issues 97 4.3.1 Relationships with Co-Workers 97 4.3.2 Language and Communication 98 4.3.3 Racial Discrimination 98

4.4 Good Practise 99 4.4.1 Diversity Charter 99 4.4.2 Diversity Workbook 100 4.4.3 Relationships with Co-Workers. 100 4.4.4 Religion 101

4.5 Recommendations 101 4.5.1 Diversity Policy 101 4.5.2 Language and Communications 102 4.5.3 Racism 102

5 CASE STUDY – A LANGUAGE SCHOOL IN CENTRAL LONDON 103

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5.1 Introduction/Background 103

5.2 Methodology 103

5.3 Issues 104 5.3.1 Language and Communication 104 5.3.2 Relationships with Co-workers 104 5.3.3 Discrimination at work 105 5.3.4 Attitudes Towards Politeness 106 5.3.5 Attitudes Towards time 107

5.4 Good Practice 107 5.4.1 Language and Communication 107 5.4.2 Integration 108

5.5 Recommendations 109 5.5.1 Formal Diversity Policies 109 5.5.2 Cultural Training Needs 110 5.5.3 Social Programmes 110

6 CASE STUDY – A GENERAL HOSPITAL 111

6.1 Introduction/Background 111

6.2 Methodology 112

6.3 Issues 112 6.3.1 Language and Communication 112 6.3.2 Relationships with Co-workers 113 6.3.3 Attitudes towards Time 114 6.3.4 The Provision of Food 114 6.3.5 Dress Codes 114 6.3.6 Hierarchies 115 6.3.7 Gender 115

6.4 Good Practice 116 6.4.1 Language and Communication 116 6.4.2 Relationships with Co-workers 117 6.4.3 Hierarchies 118

6.5 Recommendations 118 6.5.1 Language and Communication 118 6.5.2 Cultural Differences 119 6.5.3 Hierarchies 119 6.5.4 Gender 119

7 General Summary 121

7.1 Issues. 121

7.2 Good Practise 122

7.3 Recommendations 123

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Table of Figures

Figure 1 Net migration into the UK 1992 - 2003 6

Figure 2 Proportion of Economically Active Minority Groups Unemployed26

Figure 3 Proportion by ethnic origin of Men in Managerial Posts 26

Figure 4 Weekly Male Earnings Relative to White Counterparts 27

Figure 5 Benefit Claims by Gender and Ethnicity 41

Figure 6 Targets for police recruitment of ethnic minorities by 2009 44

Figure 7 Percentage of people with no British qualifications 55

Figure 8 School pupils achievement at age 15+ 62

Figure 9 Participation of minority ethnic groups in Higher Education in England 65

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GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Acculturation – The modification of the culture of a group or of a single individual as a result of contact with a different culture. (http://www.answers.com) Asylum Seeker – often an individual who leaves their own country for their safety, often for political reasons or because of war, and who travels to another country hoping that the government will protect them and allow them to live there: (http://www.freesearch.co.uk/dictionary/asylum-seeker). An asylum seeker applies to a State to be recognized as a Convention Refugee under the terms of the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Most European countries are signatories of the Geneva Convention. Asylum seekers have the right to remain in such countries while their applications for Refugee Status are being processed, and to continue to live there afterwards, if granted Refugee Status. Beneficiary – a person, institution or other grouping of people that benefits from the actions described in a case. (http://www.beep-eu.org/) Bilingual – a person who is competent in two languages Case (study) – the description of and application of methods to a specific situation. A case study must involve one or more objectives and a description of the activities (methods and processes) carried out in pursuit of these objectives. (http://www.beep-eu.org/) Client – the party for which services are rendered (e.g. by a research team). (http://www.answers.com). In traditional commerce and in the marketing and provision of services, a client or customer consumes or benefits from a product or service. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/) Within the remit of the EIW project this can also apply to less traditional examples of a client such as school pupils, for example. Convention Refugee – see Refugee below Cross-cultural – the term cross-cultural is generally used to describe comparative data and studies of a limited number of cultures. For example, when examining attitudes towards work in the US and in Japan, then that is a cross-cultural study. It is sometimes used interchangeably with the “Intercultural” (see Intercultural). Cultural diversity – variety and richness of communities with distinct systems of norms, beliefs, practices, and values. (http://www.cadi.ph/glossary_of_terms.htm) See Ethnic diversity Discrimination – involves formally or informally classifying people into different groups and according the members of each group distinct, and typically unequal, treatments, rights and obligations without a rational justification for the different treatment. If there is rational justification for the different treatment, then the discrimination is not invidious. The criteria delineating the groups, such as gender, race, or class, determine the kind of discrimination. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/)

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Education sector – The education sector includes primary, secondary and third-level educational institutions such as colleges and universities which are organized on a regional / national basis or independently such as tuition companies. Equal opportunities – two key elements of the general principle of equal opportunities are the ban on discrimination on grounds of nationality (Article 12 of the EC Treaty, formerly Article 6) and equal pay for men and women (Article 141 of the EC Treaty, formerly Article 119). It is intended to apply to all fields, particularly economic, social, cultural and family life. The Treaty of Amsterdam added a new Article 13 to the Treaty, reinforcing the principle of non-discrimination, which is closely linked to equal opportunities. Under this new Article, the Council has the power to take appropriate action to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. Adopted in December 2000, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union includes a chapter entitled "Equality" which sets out the principles of non-discrimination, equality between men and women, and cultural, religious and linguistic diversity. It also covers the rights of the child, the elderly and persons with disabilities. On the subject of non-discrimination, the Charter states that: "Any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, color, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation shall be prohibited." (EU glossary of terms) Ethnic background – origin in an ethnic group (see below) Ethnic diversity – diversity of people with different national backgrounds Ethnic group – a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others as a group who believe themselves to have a common historical origin. The distinguishing features of the group may take any of a number of forms -- racial, cultural, linguistic, and religious -- and may be more or less porous. Because of these features, members of an ethnic group are often presumed to be culturally or biologically similar, although this is not in fact necessarily the case. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/) Foreigner – a person born in or coming from a foreign country (OED) Good practice – the use of a method, tool, technology etc. which is generally regarded as 'practices which are good (e.g. for learning)', i.e. practices which either achieve their own objectives and/or have a beneficial impact on their environment, or (and more important) provide useful learning experiences which are likely to stimulate creativity, ingenuity and self reflexivity on the part of the user. Contrast with best practice that has been shown to be the 'best' in a given situation as a result of benchmarking and other analyses. (http://www.beep-eu.org/). Immigrant – a person who comes as a permanent or long-term resident to a country and intends to reside permanently, and not as a casual visitor or traveler. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/)

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Intercultural – the term intercultural is sometimes used synonymously to “cross-cultural” (see above) to describe comparative data and studies of a large number of cultures, or studies that try to identify dimensions that are not culture specific. For example Hofstede's work is crosscultural, as it describes cultural dimensions applicable for all cultures. Intercultural is also used to describe interactional data arising in a situation where members of different cultural backgrounds. Intercultural communication – communication between persons who have different cultural backgrounds. Intercultural communication education – includes learning about different cultures, both culture general and culture specific information. The focus is not so much on habits and religious customs, but rather on cultural similarities and differences in communication patterns, including body language; as well as in attitudes, values and norms in areas such as relation to authority and showing respect and politeness; time orientation; gender roles; collectivism and individualism. Intercultural company – an enterprise that employs people from different nationalities, cultures and/or racial backgrounds. Intercultural workplace – a working environment in which people of different nationalities, cultures and racial backgrounds are employed. Also a work environment that deals with clients/customers from different cultures. International worker – a term used by some organisations to refer to workers from minority ethnic communities, who have come from overseas to work in the country. This term is by some considered more interculturally sensitive than other terms such as terms ‘non-national’ or ‘foreign national’. Institutional racism – the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin. (Lawrence Inquiry committee investigation of London Metropolitan Police) Life-long learning – continuous acquirement of knowledge, skills and competencies (in an environment of constant change). Migrant Worker – an economic migrant is a person who voluntarily leaves his or her country of origin (often for economic reasons). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/) Minority – a group within a country that differs in culture, ethnicity, race, religion or national origin from the larger part of the population. Mother tongue – usually the first language(s) acquired as a child or sometimes the language of the mother of the child Multinational – a business organization which operates in many countries

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Multiculturalism – Multiculturalism or cultural pluralism is a policy, ideal, or reality that emphasizes the unique characteristics of different cultures in the world, especially as they relate to one another in immigrant receiving nations. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/) Non-national – a person who is not a citizen of the country they are residing in on a short or long-term basis. This term is commonly considered inappropriate nowadays, being both inaccurate and interculturally insensitive in implying a person has ‘no nationality’ – they are just nationals of a different country. The terms ‘foreign national’ or ‘international worker’ are considered preferable. On-job training – the process of being taught a specific skill in the workplace Participant observation – a research method where the researcher is both an observer of and a participant in a given communicative event such as a transaction in a retail shop. The observations can be made more or less systematically depending on the purpose of the study at hand. Prejudice – false and negative belief about something (often people or groups of people) Private sector - the part of the economy not under direct state control (OED) Public sector – The Public Sector is the part of the economy concerned with providing basic government services. In most countries the public sector includes such services as the police, military, public roads, public transit, primary education and healthcare for the poor. The public sector might provide services that non-payers cannot be excluded from (such as street lighting), services which benefit all of society rather than just the individual who uses the service (such as public education), and services that encourage equal opportunity. The Public Sector is made up of national government, local governments, government-owned or controlled corporations and government monetary institutions. Local, state, and federal government agencies and services, such as schools and libraries. Racism – any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life. http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/d_icerd.htm Refugee – The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees defines a refugee as a person who is outside the country of his/her nationality and unable or unwilling to return to it, "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion." (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights www.unhcr.org)

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A person who, ”owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it". (Article 1 of the Geneva Convention, 1951) Social capital – possession of socially or socio-economically relevant immaterial resources (e.g. social networks, social skills with regard to creating social contacts, education or training in organizing and managing social/socio-economical groupings etc) SME (Small to Medium Size Enterprise) – enterprises with less than 250 employees and a turnover of less than 40 million Euro. Divided into micro enterprises (less than 10 employees), small size (11-50 employees) and medium (51-250). (http://www.beep-eu.org/) Social inclusion – inclusion in a social group – a policy of social inclusion could mean commitment to an ethos of fairness and equality within a given society. www.inspire.edin.org/pages/glossary.htm Social justice – right of all individuals and groups of individuals to equity, fairness and equality. (http://www.cadi.ph/glossary_of_terms.htm) Social partner – a term used by the European Commission for employer and employee organizations who engage with the Commission in a dialogue with a view to developing a common approach to EU economic and social policies. It encompasses Trade Unions, Trade Associations, Chamber of Commerce, and (peripherally) Professional Associations. (http://www.beep-eu.org/) Sojourner – a temporary resident; a person who stays for a short period of time in one place Study – an analytical piece of work that may include surveys or analysis of a group of case studies. It is a more general concept than case study which is a study of a particular situation. (http://www.beep-eu.org/) Workplace education – education in the workplace – e.g. systematic instruction to furnish or acquire further knowledge about the working environment and ways in which to apply good practice.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Abbreviation Meaning AFOPS Armed Forces Overarching Personnel Strategy BAA British Airports Authority BBC British Broadcasting Corporation CRE Commission for Racial Equality DCU Dublin City University DfEE Department for Education and Employment EEA European Economic Area EIC Excellence in Cities EIW European Intercultural Workplace Project EMAG Ethnic Minorities Achievement Grant EMBF Ethnic Minority Business Forum EOA Equal Opportunities Adviser ESOL English for Speakers of Other Languages EU European Union FTSE 100 Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 GCSE General Certificate of Secondary Education HE Higher Education HSBC Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation IAS Immigration Advisory Service ITT Initial Teacher Training KPI Key Performance Indicator LEA Local Education Authority LSC Learning and Skills Council NDPB Non-Departmental Public Bodies NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NHS National Health Service NPD National Pupil Database NQT Newly Qualified Teachers OFSTED Office for Standards in Education PCC Press Complains Commission PLASC Pupil Level Annual School Census QTS Qualified Teacher Status RIMA Race in the Media Awards SME Small and Medium Enterprise TTA Teacher Training Agency UK United Kingdom UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees

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INTRODUCTION

European workplaces are experiencing major transformation. Economic and

political changes in Europe over the past decades have resulted in a vast increase

in the cultural diversity of those living, working and being educated within its

borders. The expansion of the European Union (EU) coupled with labour shortages

in many parts of the continent have brought about a steady increase in mobility

both within and from outside Europe. This trend is likely to continue and expand as

workplaces grow into microcosms of a culturally diverse society.

Cultural diversity is fast becoming the norm in most areas of life in Europe. Even

for those with little interest in foreign cultures or in mixing with others culturally

different from themselves, many everyday situations now necessitate intercultural

interactions, whether in the workplace, public services or educational institutions. In

this new context, people at all levels of the workforce – managers, employees,

customers – from host and migrant communities, find themselves in new roles with

new challenges for which they have not necessarily been prepared or trained to

deal with. Such interactions require a new mindset and a repertoire of skills beyond

what was adequate for interaction within one’s own cultural group. Organisations

often need to re-think existing policies and procedures, in order to better meet the

needs of and benefit from the opportunities offered by a new culturally diverse

workforce. Questions of equality and racism, identity and values assume a new

importance and urgency, as intercultural communicative competence becomes a

vital priority in all areas of life.

This situation presents many questions. How well are workplaces in Europe

responding to this new reality? How similar are the challenges and opportunities

presented in different sectors and states? What pitfalls to be avoided and

examples of good practice can be shared between EU countries? What

intercultural training needs exist and how best can these be addressed? These are

some of the key questions that inspired the development of the European

Intercultural Workplace (EIW) Project (2004-7). Originally conceptualised in DCU,

Ireland, EIW was developed and expanded through a network of 10 European

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partners, and its implementation was made possible by funding granted by the EU

Leonardo da Vinci Programme. A core outcome of the project is the establishment

of an overview of work practice across Europe based on national situational

analyses and workplace case studies. The identification of intercultural training

needs and good practice responses will inform the production of effective

intercultural training materials to a common European standard.

The European Intercultural Workplace (EIW) partnership draws together 10

institutions from northern and southern Europe, established EU members and

more recent Member States, countries with a long experience of integrating

foreigners into the workforce and others for whom this is a new situation. This

complexity allows us to have a wide-ranging, experienced and fresh perspective on

the issues involved.

The current publication is divided into two parts: (1) A National Situational Analysis

and (2) Case Studies. The Situation Analysis examines the current intercultural

workplace in the United Kingdom, investigating issues such as the history of

immigration, areas where immigrants are most likely to be employed, the status of

asylum seekers and refugees, as well as government, business and civic

responses to these changes. The Case Studies are designed to assess the

situation and conditions on the ground. In the UK we have examined the areas of

health, private adult education, higher education, retailing and hospitality. We

endeavoured to consider workplace issues from the perspective of Management,

Employees and Customers.

The primary aim of this report is to identify examples of good practice and make

recommendations that will assist policy makers and practitioners in their attempts

to create a harmonious intercultural workplace and foster a culture of learning. It

also aims to provide information for workers intending to move to the UK and

British employers in need of foreign labour of the policies and steps that need to be

taken for an easier and more effective process of integration into the workplace.

This report is not intended to be exhaustive; it presents a snapshot, based on a

selection process accommodating the constraints of the project, the needs of the

international partners in the project, and the fact that the situation in the UK is

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undergoing rapid change. The EIW Project partners would like to hear feedback

from you, the reader and final user, on the information presented. Please visit the

European Intercultural Workplace website for further discussions and consultations

(www.eiworkplace.net).

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PART 1: SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

1 GENERAL BACKGROUND & NATIONAL CONTEXT

1.1 Historical development leading to current situation

1.1.1 Introduction

The UK has a long history of immigration through invasion, trade and asylum; and

an equally strong sense of an island identity, with an awareness (especially in

England) of unbroken social traditions for nearly 1000 years since 1066. Public

attention has recently been focused on asylum seekers but this is only one aspect

of a complex problem. To get a fuller picture it is necessary to consider asylum

seekers, family settlement, labour migration and illegal immigration together. This

paper, therefore, provides an overview of the main issues.

1.1.2 Recent History

Until the 1950s there had been no major immigration into Britain, other than from

Ireland, since the Norman invasion nearly 1000 years ago. About 100,000

Huguenots arrived from France in the 17th century and a similar number of Jews in

the late 19th century. Approximately 70,000 refugees from Nazi Germany were

admitted in the 1930s. New Commonwealth immigration began in the 1950s. In the

1960s acceptances for settlement were at the rate of about 75,000 a year. Racial

tension led to successively tighter restrictions on immigration. By 1971 it was

believed that primary immigration had been brought to an end. There has since

been little public discussion of the subject. However, in practice, there was only a

modest reduction in Commonwealth immigration. The average number of New

Commonwealth acceptances for settlement in the 1970s was 72,000 per year, in

the 1980s and early 1990s it was about 54,000 per year. Since 1996 the overall

settlement figure has doubled from 62,000 to 125,000 in 2000, 108,000 in 2001,

118,000 in 2002 and 143,000 in 2003. The total since 1963 is nearly 2.5 million

(some of whom, of course, will no longer be living in Britain ). The ethnic minority

population (largely New Commonwealth immigrants and their descendants) now

accounts for 4 million (7%) of the population of England and Wales. The

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distribution of the population is mainly in the large conurbations. Outside these, few

immigrants have settled.

1.1.3 Comparison with Europe

The top ten countries of origin in the first 3 quarters of 2004 were Iran, Somalia,

China, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Iraq, India, Democratic Republic of Congo,

Afghanistan and Turkey. They have a combined population of 2.726 billion. All

these countries have substantial minorities that would qualify for asylum. The risks

that some take to get here is an indication of the attractiveness of Britain as a

destination especially compared to conditions in their countries of origin.

Britain topped the list in 2002 and 2003 with 103,000 and 60,000 applications

respectively (UNHCR figures). In 2003 Germany had 50,500, France 59,300 and

Austria 32,300. Compared to the first 9 months of 2003 the number of asylum

claims during January to September 2004 fell by 36% in the UK. Comparable falls

in other EU countries over the same period include the Netherlands (down 33%)

and Ireland (down 46%).

Asylum seekers are attracted to Britain by

• the English language

• the presence of relatives or compatriots,

• the relative ease of entering and remaining in the UK,

• ease of claiming compared to many other EU Countries -such as

Germany or France,

• the absence of internal controls on their movements,

• welfare support and health care that may compare favourably with

conditions at home - and by the likelihood that they can merge into

the community and find illegal employment even if their application

is refused.

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Net migration into the UK 000's1992 - 2003

-150-100

-500

50100150200250

92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03

BritishEUNon-EUTotal net migration

1.1.4 Total net migration from outside the EU

Net non-EU migration to the UK has been rapidly increasing from 44,000 in 1992 to

a peak of 233,000 in 2002. There has been a steady net outflow of British citizens

during this period - peaking at 91,000 in 2002. The graph at Figure 1 shows the

trends.

Figure 1 Net migration into the UK 1992 - 2003

A small inflow of EU citizens of 11,000 brought the overall net migration figure to

153,400 in 2002. In 2003 the number of net non-EU migrants was down slightly to

222,000. EU migration was up to 14,000 and the net outflow of British citizens was

85,000. Overall, therefore, the net migration figure was 151,000 – a similar level to

2002 and the fifth year running it has been over 150,000. The net migration total

includes family settlement, students and workers here for more than a year, some

of the asylum seekers, and others who extend their stay.

1.1.5 Family Settlement

In the year 2000 France granted 15% of asylum applications. In Germany less than

3% were granted asylum. In Britain, the average for 1997- Q3,2004, including

Exceptional Leave to Remain, was 37% but, as noted above, over 80% are

believed to stay on anyway.

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Those settled in the UK (and those granted asylum) have the right to bring their

dependant spouses and children to the UK. Under certain circumstances their

parents and grandparents can also join them.

In 1976, when there was a major debate in parliament, it was claimed that the pool

of dependants from the Indian sub-continent would be largely exhausted by the

end of that parliament. Indeed, a former Minister of Immigration (Mr Alex Lyon)

claimed that the total was about 100,000. In fact, from 1976 to 1999 there were

375,000 applications for entry clearance from the Indian sub-continent, 317,000 of

which were as wives (fiancées) or children. In 2002 the worldwide total for family

settlement in the UK was 65,500 (95,000 if accompanying dependants of work

permit holders and refugees are included).

In June 1997 the government abolished the primary purpose rule. This had

required applicants to satisfy the Entry Control Officer that it was not the primary

purpose of an intended marriage to obtain admission to the UK. Other

requirements remain but they are difficult to enforce. One effect of the change is

that marriage, even if it is an arranged marriage, to someone settled in the UK can

be used as a means of avoiding immigration controls. It also, of course, establishes

a continuous source of new migration.

1.1.6 Illegal Immigrants

Numbers are, by definition, very uncertain although the USA and some European

countries attempt estimates. Those discovered by customs and immigration

officers rose from 3,300 in 1990 to over 50,000 in 2002 before falling to 38,000 in

2003. At least part of this increase was a result of improved detection, but the total

number is likely to be considerably higher as only a fraction will be detected.

Anecdotal evidence also suggests an increase. The French Red Cross ran a camp

near Calais (now closed) which had 20,000 people pass through it in the year

2000.

A Home Office research paper describes rising illegal immigration as both

unsustainable and undesirable in economic and social terms.

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1.1.7 Asylum Seekers

The number of applications nearly trebled from 30,000 in 1996 to 84,000 in 2002.

In 2003 applications fell by 40% to 49,000. In the first 9 months of 2004 there have

been 25,000 applications – equivalent to an annual rate of about 34,000. All figures

exclude dependants. If they are added in the 2002 total would have been 103,000

falling to 60,000 in 2003 and with a probable outcome of around 40,000 in 2004.

The final figure will be higher since those granted asylum can subsequently bring in

non-accompanying dependants. In due course, their children can bring in spouses

so new and continuing sources of immigration are being generated. Despite the fall

in applications the United Kingdom still received more asylum applications in the

first three quarters of 2004 than any other industrialised country apart from France.

Since 1997, up to the end of Q3 2004, 490,000 asylum applications have been

heard of which 63% have been refused asylum and humanitarian

protection/discretionary leave but only about a fifth of those refused are believed to

have left the country. Furthermore, the number of removals has been steadily

falling since the third quarter of 2003.

The cost to the Home Office of asylum seekers in 2002 was estimated to be £1.8

billion, up from £1.7 billion the previous year. The cost of legal aid, £204m in

2003/4 is additional - as is the cost of the courts, for which the government have

given no estimate.

An Audit Commission report of June 2000 estimated that at least 85% of asylum

seekers live in London. Government efforts at dispersal have had limited success.

By the end of 2003 there were 50,000 in dispersed accommodation and 30,000

outside it.

1.1.8 Work Permits

The work permit system, established in 1920, is employer-driven. It enables

employers to bring in skilled labour for up to 4 years (now 5) provided that they can

show that there is no suitable worker from the European Economic Area. From

1974-94 approximately 15-30,000 work permits were issued each year. The

number issued rose sharply in the late 90s. 145,000 new work permits and first

9

permissions were issued in 2003. These workers will be able to bring their families

and, on past form, most will be accepted for settlement after 4-5 years if they so

wish. This massive expansion of the work permit scheme therefore represents a

major new avenue of immigration. It is not at all clear that the government attempts

any serious check of applicant's credentials. Their target is to decide 90% of

completed applications within one day of receipt. The argument, apparently, is that

providing legal routes of entry will reduce illegal immigration. However, the

countries that produce asylum seekers are not those which produce applicants for

work permits. The more likely result will be to increase the already very strong

pressures by giving the impression that we are a country of immigration.

1.1.9 Economic Considerations

It is argued in favour of immigration that it relieves labour shortages and reduces

inflation. Inflation will only be reduced to the extent that the growth of wages is

depressed. Furthermore, labour shortages are being addressed by means of a

massive increase in work permits which are valid for 5 years. Some make a case

for the importation of labour to perform low quality work, which is unpopular with

the indigenous population but this risks creating an under-class; it does not amount

to a case for large scale inward migration.

It is also suggested that immigration tends to promote economic growth. Many of

the immigrants will be able and anxious to contribute to the economy but the social

costs of housing, health and education must also be taken into account. A Home

Office research paper describes the evidence for immigration promoting economic

growth as ‘far from definitive’.

Another consideration is the Support Ratio - the proportion of the population of

working age. It would require over one million immigrants per year up to 2050 to

keep the present ratio of workers to pensioners; the population would double to

120 million. This is clearly not feasible. An older population is an inevitable and

permanent consequence of fewer babies and longer lives. But there is no

demographic crisis in the UK. The birth rate at 1.73 is not far below the

replacement level of 2.1. However, this estimate understates family size because

motherhood is being delayed. (By comparison, the birth rate in Germany is 1.3 and

10

in Italy is 1.2). The over 65s will increase from 16% to about 24% in the future but

this can be managed by encouraging workforce participation and by removing

obstacles and disincentives to a longer working life as the population becomes

healthier. In the longer run, it would help if it were made easier for women to have

the number of children they consistently say they want to have (around 2).

Little work appears to have been done on the social costs and benefits of

immigration. An essential first step would be for the Home Office to publish details

of overall annual intakes including an assessment of overstayers and illegal

immigrants.

In the 1990s, immigration became the most important component of population

growth and of the projected future growth of households and hence for the new

building programme. Over half of migrants live in London and the South East and

more than 75% of new migrants are settling there. According to the Office of the

Deputy Prime Minister 59,000 households will be formed each year as a result of

immigration. This is nearly one in three of the total new households (of 189,000)

estimated to be formed each year. Ethnic minorities now make up 29% of London's

population. This is projected to rise to 31% by 2011. Children in London schools

speak more than 300 languages.

1.1.10 Students

In 2003 a total of 319,000 were admitted and efforts are being made to attract

larger numbers of foreign students for higher and further education. Numbers were

down from 369,000 in the previous year but extensions were up from 121,000 in

2002 to 185,000 in 2003. There is evidence that a high proportion of the extensions

were for sham courses and that a proportion of students stay on illegally.

1.1.11 The Legal Position

The United Kingdom and other countries which are Contracting States to the 1951

Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol undertake to

grant asylum to claimants who can show that they have a well-founded fear of

persecution. The obligation is expressed in Article 33 of the Convention as an

obligation not to:-

11

‘expel or return ('refouler') a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers

of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his

race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political

opinion’.

An asylum applicant will normally be claiming a fear of persecution on one or other

of these grounds if he returned to his country of origin.

Anyone can claim asylum on or after arrival in the United Kingdom and he may not

be removed to the country of origin until his claim has been rejected by the Home

Office and he has exhausted any right of appeal against that rejection which he

may choose to exercise. The majority of asylum applications are rejected and most

appeals against rejection are dismissed, in each case because the applicant fails

to establish to a reasonable degree of likelihood that if he is returned to his country

of origin he will face persecution for one or other of the reasons listed in the

previous paragraph. Most asylum seekers are in fact economic migrants and their

claims and appeals are frequently rejected because on investigation the evidence

given in support of their claims/appeals is shown not to be believable. Each case

must be considered substantively so even apparently undeserving cases cannot be

filtered out. Meanwhile, the claimant is entitled to free accommodation, emergency

health care, children's education, a cash allowance and free legal aid.

By Article 1F of the 1951 Convention, its protection is denied to any person with

respect to whom there are serious reasons for considering that he has committed a

serious non-political crime in a country other than the host country or if he has

been convicted of a particularly serious crime and hence constitutes a danger to

the community of that country.

In October 2000 the Human Rights Act 1998 was brought into force, making the

European Human Rights Convention justiciablein the courts of the United

Kingdom. Rights under the Convention are now regularly relied on by asylum

seekers in addition to their rights under the 1951 Geneva Convention and 1967

Protocol. Asylum seekers will now contend that if they are returned to their

countries of origin they will be at risk of having their human rights infringed in those

countries as well as being persecuted there.

12

1.1.12 Conclusions

Net inward foreign migration from non EU countries has more than doubled since

1997 to 222,000 in 2003. Significant components - asylum seekers and family

settlement - are likely to continue to increase. Indeed, under present legislation,

they will continue indefinitely.

Illegal immigration is an additional, unquantifiable, component. The economic case

for such flows is far from definitive. The social consequences have been little

investigated but the implications, for example for housing, are considerable.

Congestion in the cities, particularly in London, will increase. Consequent

increased demand for new housing in the South outside London is already

apparent.

A recession would have some temporary impact on the inward flow but a

fundamental change in the legal framework would be necessary to achieve a

permanent impact. A balance may need to be found between meeting the

humanitarian needs of those genuinely fleeing persecution and the serious

practical consequences for society in general.

1.2 Government Response

The legal costs are running into hundreds of millions. In efforts to tighten up the

laws governing asylum Parliament has passed substantial Acts in 1993, 1996,

1997, 1999, 2002 and 2004. Each of these Acts substantially amends its

predecessors as well as the earlier Immigration Acts of 1971 and 1988.

1.2.1 Legislation

The situation in the UK is characterised by legislation by the government, and

various projects and initiatives often led by the government. The government has

responded to the immigration situation by enacting legislation and by establishing

bodies and organisations to oversee and monitor policy. The most significant

legislation dates from the Immigration Act 1971, which has been followed by:

13

• Immigration Act 1988

• Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993

• Asylum and Immigration Act 1996

• Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997

• Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

• Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002

• Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004.

A person is subject to immigration control if he is not a national of a Member State

of the European Economic Area (EEA) and under the Immigration Act 1971 he

requires leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom. The obligations of the

United Kingdom and many other countries in relation to asylum are contained in

the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees as amended by a

1967 Protocol. Article 33 of the Convention prohibits refoulement, i.e. the expulsion

by states which are signatories of the Convention of refugees in any manner to

territories where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their

race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political

opinion.

Before 1993, although the United Kingdom was a signatory to the Convention, it

had not been formally incorporated into UK law until the Immigration Act 1971.

Since then the numbers of immigrants and asylum seekers has increased greatly,

and Parliament has passed six substantial Acts in eleven years, trying to deal with

issues such as housing and the entitlement of asylum seekers to claim social

security benefits.

Mention must also be made of the Human Rights Act 1998, which came into effect

in October 2000, at the same time as the 1999 Act. This Act makes the European

Human Rights Convention directly enforceable in the courts of the United Kingdom.

It is of general application, but very relevant to all asylum applications and appeals.

For details of the Immigration Act 2004 concerning removal to safe countries,

credibility, procedure on marriage, and criminal offences, see Appendix A

Immigration Act 2004.

14

1.2.2 Citizenship Test

The citizenship test was introduced in 2005 and covers government, society and

practical issues. People seeking to become British will take the test at one of 90

centres across the country, before taking part in a formal citizenship ceremony.

The number of people granted citizenship reached a record 141,000 in 2004 - a

rise of 12% on 2003.

The ‘Life in the UK’ test is the last of a series of changes to how people become

British. Potential citizens must answer 75% of the questions correctly to pass, but

they are allowed to retake it until they pass.

The Home Office said it wanted to create a new, more meaningful, way of

becoming a citizen in an effort to help people integrate and share in British values

and traditions. Immigration Minister Tony McNulty has said:

‘This is not a test of someone's ability to be British or a test of their

Britishness. It is a test of their preparedness to become citizens, in keeping

with the language requirement as well. It is about looking forward, rather

than an assessment of their ability to understand history.’

Applications for citizenship ran at about 40,000 a year during the mid-1990s until,

in line with migration trends, they began rising in 1998. While the number of people

granted citizenship grew, the rate of new applications fell slightly during 2004,

probably due to the new English language requirements causing some people to

wait. Just under half of all applications were granted on the basis of residence in

the UK. Some 29% of new citizens were accepted on the basis of marriage to a

British resident, while about a fifth were children.

People born in Asian or African countries accounted for 40% and 32% respectively

of all applications, the principal nationalities being Pakistani, Indian and Somalian.

Almost 60% of people born abroad living in the UK take British citizenship within

six years, according to figures from 2004.

The Life in the UK Citizenship Guide for prospective new citizens includes

information on British history and society, its institutions and political system - but

15

also practical issues key to integration such as employment, healthcare, education

and using public services like libraries.

1.2.3 The Commission for Racial Equality

The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) was set up under the 1976 legislation;

its mission statement is:-

‘We work for a just and integrated society, where diversity is valued. We use

both persuasion and our powers under the law to give everyone an equal

chance to live free from fear, discrimination, prejudice and racism.’

On 24 November 2005, the CRE published its new statutory code of practice on

racial equality in employment. The code is a set of recommendations and guidance

on how to avoid unlawful racial discrimination and harassment in employment. It

outlines employers' legal obligations under the Race Relations Act 1976 – which

also set up the CRE) - and contains general advice on the policies they will need to

safeguard against discrimination and harassment, as well as more detailed

recommendations on the procedures and practice that will help ensure fair and

equal treatment for everyone.

While the Race Relations Act gave the CRE specific powers for conducting formal

investigations, it also places on the CRE certain obligations regarding the

procedures to be followed when conducting investigations. These obligations are

intended to safeguard the respondents’ interests.

The CRE conducts more general investigations for a number of reasons. For

example, CRE may wish to:

• promote equality of opportunity and good race relations in a

specific area, such as secondary school admissions

• establish whether discrimination is occurring in a particular sector

or area of work, such as the accountancy profession

If the CRE suspects that a particular company or organisation is discriminating on

racial grounds, it can embark on a formal investigation. The CRE can:

• order respondents to produce documents and give evidence;

16

• issue a non-discrimination notice to the respondents, requiring

them to take specified; action to prevent any further discrimination;

• enforce compliance with the terms of a non-discrimination notice;

• make recommendations to any relevant individuals or bodies;

• produce and, if appropriate, publish a report of the investigation.

1.3 Civic response

1.3.1 The voluntary sector

There are many voluntary organisations offering support and assistance to

immigrants and asylum seeker in the UK. They perform four major functions in

relation to immigrating.

The first is acting a pressure group lobbying governments and commissioning

reports into migration issues including human rights abuses. This group includes

Amnesty International and Liberty. Amnesty International is a human rights

organisation reporting on the many issues including asylum and migration Liberty

is Liberty is one of the UK's leading human rights and civil liberties organisations. It

was founded as the National Council for Civil Liberties in 1934 and has

campaigned for equal rights for over 70 years.

The second category is organisations that offer legal advice and assistance to

migrants and asylum seekers and their families. These organisations also act in a

political capacity buy raising immigration issues at the government level. Amongst

these are The Immigration Advisory Service, Asylum Aid and AdviceNow. The

Immigration Advisory Service (IAS) is the UK’s largest charity providing confidential

advice and representation in immigration, asylum and nationality law. These

services are free to people who are eligible. The organisation has been in

operation for over 30 years.

The third type of organisation offers advice and practical help to those individuals

who live in the UK and are beginning to establish their lives here. One of the

largest in the UK is The Refugee Council which offers courses in English to

Speakers of Other Languages and Business English courses and job preparation

and IT skills courses. Praxis, co-ordinates efforts amongst charities and

17

government agencies to offer practical help and also offer courses to migrants and

professionals.

The fourth type of organisation provides information to those professionals who are

involved in helping asylum seekers and migrants. Examples here are The

Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees, The Immigration Law

Practitioners' Association and Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants.

Education and training is offered by some of these organisations for professionals

working in the area, some of which lead to accredited legal qualifications in the UK.

To some extent, these organisations cross over these boundaries and are involved

in more than one of these activities.

Voluntary agencies working in the community are overwhelmingly in favour of

integration. Some, such as Migrationwatch UK, are felt by many to be right wing

anti-immigration bodies, which may be detected in their use of language.

1.3.2 Business community response

The response from the wider business community has been characterised by a

number of policy and training initiatives to address the issues raised in a multi-

ethnic and multi-cultural workplace. There are a number of good examples of

businesses working in this field.

Race for Opportunity

The organisation Race for Opportunity is concerned with inspiring and working with

business to demonstrate the clear opportunity and business case for working on

race in the UK environment. Race for Opportunity works with over 180 private and

public sector organisations across the UK to realise their objectives on race,

usually as part of their diversity programme.

The Campaign works in partnerships with these organisations to help them reap

the business benefits of implementing an effective race and diversity action plan.

Race for Opportunity works with affiliated organisations across four key areas of

business activity which demonstrate the business case for working on race in the

UK and globally:

18

• Employment, including recruitment, selection, progression and

retention.

• Marketing to ethnic minorities as profitable consumers.

• Working with ethnic minority small businesses.

• Diversity-proofing community involvement programmes to include

ethnic minority community activity.

The belief is that the positive impact and outcomes of this work will, over time, be

demonstrated through improvements in member's bottom line and them becoming

an employer of choice, resulting in an enhanced community profile.

Ethnic Minority Business Forum

Ethnic minority businesses make an important contribution to the UK economy.

The role of the Ethnic Minority Business Forum (EMBF) is to help ensure these

businesses are given the right help and advice to succeed. EMBF does this by

working with the Small Business Service and Business Link franchises. EMBF

provides independent advice to Government in relation to small and medium

enterprises (SME) policy and practice as they relate to ethnic minority business.

They are also there to listen to the views and needs of ethnic minority business

communities and convey them to Government and policy makers. The EMBF is

happy to receive views/comments on the business needs of ethnic minority

entrepreneurs, to assist its dialogue with Government. The EMBF does not provide

advice to individual BME businesses or deliver any business support services. For

such enquiries, there is a Business Link web site.

HSBC Bank plc

To operate successfully, HSBC Bank plc, a principal member of the HSBC Group

needed to understand the local communities and spread that understanding

around the world. The company believes that its success is built on their 166 year

history with local, on-the-ground, financial experts where they become part of the

local culture. As a principal member of a global financial services and banking

group, they believe that this expertise and understanding is invaluable. They

consider that employing diverse people makes them more adaptable to new

situations. This is approach and policy covers gender, ethnicity, disability, religion

19

and age; it is about respecting individuals and treating everyone, customers and

colleagues, with dignity.

For HSBC, diversity reaches far beyond compliance with legislation and equal

opportunities initiatives. As an international bank, they value the diversity of the

markets in which they operate.

HSBC's diversity strategy is based on the premise that the most important

competitive differentiators are the quality of individual service they provide to their

individual customers and the way they treat their individual employees.

1.4 Academic community response

Many statutory bodies and NGOs have investigated the field of education, and the

needs of the immigrant community, for both children and adults. The results of

some of this wide area of research and the conclusions arrived at have been

presented here. The research comes from a great variety of perspectives and from

many valuable sources of information that are useful in distilling policy lessons for

the UK.

The Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) enhanced ethnic

monitoring of pupils’ progress through changes to the Annual School Census for

January 2002. This allowed individual pupil-level achievement to be linked to

ethnic group data to ensure that support for groups at risk of under-achieving is

targeted more effectively.

The Government introduced their ‘Connexions Service’ a new inclusive service

for every 13-19 year old to provide information, guidance, support or help with their

transition to adult and working life. Extending opportunity and equality of

opportunity is one of the eight key principles of the service, and minority ethnic

groups have been consulted in the early stages.

The Ethnic Minority Student Achievement Grant has been introduced with aims to

support Further Education provision that meets particular needs of minority ethnic

students, often covering additional staffing costs. The DfEE has provided £2m this

year and Further Education Funding Council added a further £0.9m.

20

The DfEE supported the Commission for Black Staff in Further Education’s enquiry

into recruitment, retention and achievement issues affecting black staff, by grant

funding.

In 2000 the Government announced a new £150m 3 year programme to increase

the numbers of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who apply for and

enter higher education. The “Excellence Challenge” built on the Excellence in

Cities (EiC) initiative by funding partnerships between Higher Education

Institutions, Further Education Institutions and secondary schools in EiC areas to

deliver extra support from the age of 13 to young people with the potential for

higher education. The Excellence Challenge benefited all minority ethnic pupils in

EiC areas with the potential for higher education.

The Higher Education Funding Council, managed an £8 million fund on behalf of

DfEE, to projects which looked at fresh ideas and innovative solutions to tackle

important issues in higher education (HE), including equal opportunities. Projects

started in summer 2000 and ran for two years. They included strategies for

successful progression through HE and transition to work for both students and

new graduates from minority ethnic communities.

Following the report of the working group on English for Speakers of Other

Languages (ESOL), “Breaking the Language Barriers”, published in August 2000,

ESOL needs were addressed as a distinct strand within the National Strategy for

Improving Adult Literacy and Numeracy Skills. DfEE developed a new national

ESOL curriculum, based on the national standards for literacy and numeracy

published by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. The Adult Basic Skills

Strategy Unit was awarded a contract for the development of materials and a

programme of intensive teacher training based on the new ESOL curriculum and

for a resource pack for voluntary and community organisations working with

refugees.

21

1.5 Media response

The media’s response to the immigration issue is varied and depends largely on

the type of media and its political background. Overall, newspapers take a more

right-of-centre political approach and many would be categorised as being anti-

immigration, particularly with regard to the issue of refugees and asylum seekers.

Many newspapers carry negative stories about immigration concentrating their

attention on controlling numbers and illegal workers. For example, the Daily Mail’s

story of August 2005 reporting MigrationWatch’s claim that the number of illegal

immigrants in Britain could be 300,000 higher than the Government's estimate.

This contrasts with the more positive coverage by The Guardian which reported, in

March 2006, that the number of black pupils gaining five or more GCSE grades A

to C had increased by up to 6%.

The broadcast media are more regulated, and have a duty to report the news and

cover issues in a more balanced way. A number of organisations exist to deal with

complaints about the media and to encourage and foster better relations between

races.

1.5.1 Race in the Media

The Commission for Racial Equality sponsor an annual award, the Race in the

Media award. This award is now in its fourteenth year, and will take place in June

2006 at London's Royal Opera House. This year's event forms a major part of the

Commission for Racial Equality's celebrations of the 30th anniversary of both the

Race Relations Act and the CRE itself. Thierry Henry won the coveted RIMA Media

Personality of the Year prize in 2005. The founding principles of RIMA are:

• to combat racial discrimination, racism and xenophobia, and to

encourage good relations among individuals and communities from

different backgrounds

• to help the media represent the realities and concerns of a country

where diversity is a fact and integration is a shared aspiration

• to make the media more accessible and relevant to people from all

backgrounds

22

The CRE’s role of changing social attitudes and promoting good race relations

between different racial groups is about making integration within society a reality.

The CRE emphasis the many aspects of life in the UK as employers, teachers,

community leaders and critically the media. Making Britain an equal nation is no

longer the impossible goal it appeared four decades ago. RIMA’s challenge even

ten years ago was just to get anyone at all to pay attention to race issues that

weren’t linked to drugs or crime.

1.5.2 Complaints against the Media

The Office of Communications was established in 2003 and replaced existing

bodies that covered broadcasters. Members of the public who wish to complain

about programme content, including racial bias can do so to this body. If the

complain is about a programme broadcast by the BBC, a complaint can be made

directly to them. Complaints against the press can be directed to the Press

Complains Commission. This is a self-regulatory body established by the printed

media, the PCC hears complaints under a Code of Practice that covers all printed

publications. On racial offence, the PCC code does not allow complaints from

anyone not named in the item; however, complaints should still be made, as the

PCC needs to know how offensive such material can be if newspaper editors are to

be persuaded to bring their code in line with those covering broadcasting and

advertising.

1.6 Summary of Responses to the Situation

Studies in this section highlight the need to understand the heterogeneity that

exists within the ethnic minority population in the UK. With regard to education and

employment issues, people from different ethnic minority groups have quite

different experiences, and even within ethnic groupings, there are important

differences in participation and achievement. Whilst there has been an

improvement in the position of Indian and Chinese ethnic groups, for example,

there is a clear pattern of continuous underachievement for other minority ethnic

groups, starting in early and compulsory education, continuing through further and

higher education, and persisting in the labour market. Three particular ethnic

groups consistently under perform in the education system and the labour market,

23

namely Bangladeshis, black Caribbeans and Pakistanis. Indeed, people of

Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin represent the lowest attaining groups on virtually

every measure, demonstrating, for example, four times the poverty rate found

among white people. To address these issues effectively, the reviewed literature

consistently calls for clear policies based on robust and reliable evidence.

Methodological limitations, however, such as small sample sizes, and a lack of

socio-economic information at both local and national levels, mean that the current

evidence base for informing policy in this sector remains incomplete and

inconclusive. Further research and analysis is clearly needed to investigate why

people from certain ethnic groups are more disadvantaged in terms of their

education and employment than others.

24

2 PRIVATE, PUBLIC & EDUCATION SECTORS

2.1 Cultural Diversity in the Private Sector.

Private sector organisations increasingly see a need to build a business case for

their approach to diversity in the workplace. The situation at the moment is

characterised by one where a start has been made by a number of organisations in

implementing diversity policies but the suggestion is that there is still much work to

be done. There are many initiatives underway mainly focused on short term goals

and quick wins for the organisations mainly driven by the Human Resource

management sector.

2.1.1 Race for Opportunity

The recent survey by the organisation Race for Opportunity (see above) of 99

organisations discovered that out of a total of 2.75 million employees, nearly 10%

of them were from an ethnic minority. Of these only 44 individuals operating at the

most senior level of these organisations, and that there were no black or other

ethnic minority Chief Executives.

Race for Opportunity drew a number of conclusions from there report which were

mainly in the area of management and communications policy. Overall, More

organisations needed to get involved in looking at the whole issue of race in a

business context. Out of the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index of leading

companies (FTSE 100), only 18 participated in the survey. Management at the

highest level was seen as essential with 86% of organisations having a board level

individual responsible for race policy and identifying a clear business case for such

a policy which went further than an employment policy.

Some organisations surveyed were aware of the benefits for customer relations.

Financial institutions and retailer in particular have woken up to the customer

dimension. 62% of respondents said that they were successfully targeting ethnic

minority customers locally and overseas, which was an increase from 42% in the

previous year

25

More companies now realise the need not just for a diversity policy but also that

this policy should be widely communicated throughout the organisation. More line

managers are now involved in reporting on their objectives under the policy. 74%

of the organisations surveyed by RfO have a communications strategy to support

their objectives on race.

The overall perception was that these policies were having an overall favourable

impact in the workplace and added to the success of the companies concerned.

2.1.2 Ethnicity and Employment

Employment rates across most ethnic minority groups are relatively low.

Britain’s ethnic minorities have consistently experienced unemployment rates twice

those of Whites, but within this overall picture, significant differences exist between

ethnic minority groups. For instance, nationally there are low rates of economic

activity and employment among Bangladeshis and Pakistanis, but high levels of

economic activity and employment among Black Caribbeans.

The following table (Figure 2) shows the overall picture across the main ethnic

groups. Amongst the reasons put forward for this apparent discrepancy are access

to education and in particular the attainment of educational qualifications, the

distribution of housing and the proximity to available employment, poor health and

the availability of suitable childcare arrangements.

2.1.3 Ethnicity and Management

There has been a slight rise in the proportion of all ethnic groups holding

professional or managerial jobs. White and Indian men have tended to maintain

broadly similar rates of higher occupational attainment across this period: see

Figure 3. With the exception of the Chinese, the remaining ethnic minority groups

have lower proportions of professional/managerial employment than their White

and Indian peers. Similar patterns are found in respect to women.

26

Proportion of Menin Professional/Managerial posts

in the UK, 1992 - 2000

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Black Caribbean Bangladeshi Pakistani

Black African Chinese Indian

White

Figure 2 Proportion of Economically Active Minority Groups Unemployed

Proportion of Economically Active Ethnic Minority Groups unemployed at the time of the survey in the UK (%)

First-generation born 1940-59,

surveyed 1970s

First-generation born 1940-59,

surveyed 1990s

Second-generation born 1940-59,

surveyed 1990s

Men Women Men Women Men Women White British-born 4.3 4.4 7.5 4.9 12.2 8.3 Black Caribbean 8.3 9.4 19 11 29.6 21.2 Indian 4.7 4.5 9.6 8.6 16.1 12.3 Pakistani 5.4 - 20.7 19.9 30.7 21.9

However, certain groups of women have experienced more rapid progress than

others: in 2000, 16 % of working Indian women were in professional or managerial

jobs, slightly higher than White women, for whom it was 15 per cent; while 13 per

cent of working Black Caribbean women fell into this category.

Figure 3 Proportion by ethnic origin of Men in Managerial Posts

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2.1.4 Ethnicity and Earnings

Overall, ethnic minorities remain disadvantaged in terms of employment and

occupational attainment. Ethnic minority men have been persistently

disadvantaged in terms of earnings. British-born ethnic minority women appear to

be no longer disadvantaged in terms of earnings, though their foreign-born peers

continue to be disadvantaged. Indian men are consistently the least disadvantaged

among ethnic minority groups but Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black men and

women are consistently among the most disadvantaged.

Perhaps the most important conclusion that emerges from studies is that, even

after like-for-like analysis, all ethnic minority groups are disadvantaged relative to

Whites in comparable circumstances. The table below illustrates this fact, showing

the wage gaps between ethnic minorities and Whites: see 4.

Figure 4 Weekly Male Earnings Relative to White Counterparts

2.1.5 Some Example from Business

These examples reflect several aspects of the multicultural workplace: altruism by

the management combined with the need to do business with all sections of the

community.

A number of financial services organisations have led the way in supporting

diversity programmes in their organisations.

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Some Examples from the Financial Sector

HBOS

HBOS is a new bank formed by the merger of the Halifax Building Society and the

Bank of Scotland. It stresses the commitment to equality of opportunity in all areas

of employment and business - as well as fairness and respect when dealing with its

workers, customers, shareholders, investors, suppliers and communities.

The bank has developed a set of standards of excellence aimed to engender good

inter-racial and inter-cultural procedures in their company. These are:

• To recruit, develop and retain the best people through the use of leading

edge policies and practices.

• To ensure that each customer and colleague is treated as an individual and

valued for their contribution.

• To ensure the workforce and customer base reflects the different

communities in which HBOS operates.

• To maximise opportunity for all by recognising and realising potential in

employment and business.

• To ensure HBOS operates within legislative risk and Good Practice

frameworks.

• To encourage and support all colleagues to take ownership and

responsibility for diversity, making it an integral part of the business.

• To ensure that HBOS becomes an employer of choice by enabling

colleagues to influence their career development, embracing and respecting

the differences that colleagues bring, - and allowing them to influence their

working patterns to match their work/life priorities and lifestyle changes.

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UBS Warburg

UBS is one of the world's leading financial firms specialising in the areas of wealth

management, investment banking, asset management and retail and commercial

banking.

Diversity is an important part of UBS’s business management strategy. The

company believes in capitalising on the creativity and innovation of a diverse

workforce and believes that this helps expand its customer base. Diversity has

been integrated as a part of their employee development and performance

measurement programs. The company has also introduced programs to create a

more positive work environment. The company supports a Global Leadership and

Diversity Program with training courses that promote an understanding of the

importance of Diversity and inclusiveness and to create greater awareness and

sensitivity to the issues it raises. The company also has a sexual harassment

prevention training programme. Both programmes are designed to promote and

maintain a workplace free of harassment believing that these programmes will

reduce any loss of talent and productivity within the company.

Since 2002, all UBS Warburg employees have been able to use an all faith prayer

room. The facility was set up in response to employees of different religious

backgrounds expressing an interest in having a room available for private worship.

The facility is open to all employees from various religious backgrounds and beliefs

and does not operate on a booking system. Prayer mats, holy books, and other

religious materials are not provided by the Bank, but employees are welcome to

bring their own belongings. And users are already providing positive feedback

about the value of having such a facility.

2.1.6 Some Examples from the Retail Sector

B&Q

B&Q is the UK's leading DIY and garden centre retailer. The company has over

38,000 employees and has recently expanded to become the number one DIY

retailer in Europe and the third largest in the world, with more than 60 stores

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opened internationally, including B&Q Beijing, which is now the largest B&Q store

in the world.

B&Q's diversity programme is part of a broader corporate social responsibility

strategy. The company attempts to understand its wider communities needs and

reflect the community in which it trades, building customer and employee loyalty,

and gaining additional skills through employing a diverse workforce.

Respect for people and being a 'great place to work and shop' are the core values

in their approach, as well as valuing and utilising the differences that a diverse

workforce can bring to business, and providing the evidence to show that this

diversity is more likely to result in a mix of talents needed for a successful

company.

The benefits are seen as gaining access to a wider talent pool with an increased

range of skills and knowledge allowing the company to continue its growth. The

company also sees this policy as a way of attracting a new customer base as a

result of employing a diverse workforce, advertising to different religious and

cultural groups and producing products to meet the needs of that diverse customer

base. The company also believes that their programs increase the awareness and

celebration of different cultural groups and increased flexibility around cultural and

faith issues for staff and remove the Preconceived prejudices and stereotypes

around age, disability and cultural diversity have been challenged both in the

workplace and the marketplace.

B&Q has a publication for its employees to help them to understand the rich

cultural environment of the UK, and to encourage them to embrace the differences

that individuals bring to work. ‘Embracing Cultural Diversity’ provides an

introduction to some of the different lifestyles, languages, religions and cultures

that contribute to today’s multicultural society in the UK.

Members of B&Q’s Cultural Diversity Steering Group are using the booklet to help

generate awareness and understanding on a personal level, but also as a

contributing part of the overall business strategy. ‘For us diversity is about

providing information to allow people to understand what difference means from a

personal as well as a business perspective,’ maintains a B&Q spokesperson.

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Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer is one of Britain’s longest established retail companies with

stores more than 500 stores and over 68,000 employees which serve tens of

millions of customers each week. The company has grown to become one of the

UK's leading retailers of clothing, food, home products and financial services.

The company has a diverse range of employees and are committed to an active

Equal Opportunities Policy. This policy covers recruitment and selection

procedures, training and development, appraisal, promotion opportunities and

eventually to retirement. They boast an environment free from discrimination,

harassment and victimisation and work hard to ensure everyone receives equal

treatment. All the decisions taken relating to employment practices are planned to

be objective, free from bias and based solely upon work criteria and individual

merit.

Not only is the company responsive to the needs of their employees and

customers but they also take pride in the role they play in the community at large.

Their policies on diversity are highly valued and are designed to make full use of

the wealth of talent that they have within their organisation.

The company has placed a lot of emphasis on developing initiatives and

procedures that ensure equality for every member of the Marks & Spencer team.

Their policies are designed to

• Promote a working environment free from discrimination,

harassment and victimisation

• Ensure that everyone receives equal treatment in all aspects of

employment policies and working practices

• Employ a workforce that reflects the diverse community we serve

and maximises personal and commercial opportunities

• Monitor and report the composition of our workforce and review

changes in attitude and application of internal policy

• Raise staff awareness by designing and delivering training

programmes that support the Equal Opportunities aims

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• Comply with the law and communicate to our stakeholders the

responsibility to protect both individuals and the company

2.1.7 Some Examples from the Transport Sector

Arriva

Arriva plc is one of the leading transport services organisations in Europe. They

operate a fleet of over 12,000 vehicles, employ over 30,000 people and provide

more than one billion passenger journeys every year. The company operates an

extensive range of services including buses, trains, commuter coaches and water

buses, and are engaged in bus and coach distribution in the UK.

Arriva is one of the UK's largest bus operators, with over 6,000 vehicles serving

customers in the North East, North West and South East of England, Yorkshire, the

Midlands, Wales and Scotland. The Group is the largest bus operator in London,

where it runs over 1,400 buses under contract to Transport for London.

The Arriva definition of diversity clearly states that diversity is not only about

compliance with the law. Their aim is to create an environment in which all people

are valued and can be successful at work and in which compliance with the law

occurs as a result of their genuinely valuing differences in all people. The company

aims to acknowledge, understand and value the differences in people, both

customers and employees. As part of this approach, and highlighting Arriva’s

commitment to the diversity agenda, the Diversity Committee and Diversity Good

Practice Forum, were introduced. Senior managers from across the Group’s

businesses are members of the Diversity Committee, which reports to the Board on

a regular basis.

British Airports Authority

British Airports Authority (BAA) claims to be the world’s leading airport company

and owns and operates seven airports in the UK and deal with hundreds of millions

of passengers a year. The company is building on its success in the UK by

expanding internationally, with management contracts, retail contracts and stakes

in airports in Australia, Hungary, Italy and the USA.

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The company wants all its staff to be well rewarded, and well motivated regardless

of gender, ethnic background or sexual orientation. This approach is integral to the

company's values and vital for its success. Their equal opportunity policies ensures

that people can work free from harassment and bullying. The company's ethics

policy reinforces the high standards it expects from all of its employees. A Speak

Up policy encourages staff with concerns to raise them at the highest level. This

policy applies to all aspects of employment including: recruitment & selection,

promotion, training, placement, reward and recognition, transfer, redundancy,

dismissal, grievance and disciplinary procedure. Equal opportunities and diversity

work is governed in the business which is committed to make progress jointly on

equal opportunities through the Joint National Forum working group.

The company believes that everyone has a part to play in achieving equality of

opportunity. They believe that a positive attitude towards equality and diversity is

right for the company, its employees, its customers and its business

partners/suppliers. They encourage all their employees to welcome diversity and

respect each person's individuality. By valuing their diverse workforce, they believe

that they will enhance their creativity, their ability to adapt to change and increase

their performance and thereby improve their competitive advantage.

2.1.8 An example of bad practice in the Private Sector

ASDA, a major supermarket chain, has been accused of discrimination against

members of its workforce on the basis of their family names alone.

37 employees were subjected to racial discrimination at the warehouse by the

depot management when in early summer 2005 the managers asked workers with

foreign sounding names to bring into work proof of identity and proof that they had

a right to work in the UK. All of these were of Asian origin. Employees with British

sounding names, including employees of Asian origin with such names, were not

asked to supply proof of identity or proof of right to work in the UK.

Employees of Asian origin with long service were very upset, hurt and angry at

being singled out for this racial discrimination in this way. Some of them had

worked for the company for up to 18 years. Employees of Asian origin with short

service were also very upset, hurt and angry at being singled out for racial

34

discrimination. They had already supplied the company with proof of identity and

proof of right to work in the UK.

ASDA, has agreed to pay compensation to 37 workers in one of their warehouses

and depots in Leicestershire and make a public apology for the racial

discrimination they were subjected to by the company’s senior management

2.1.9 Summary of the Private Sector

Overall, the workplace is still a place where ethnic minorities are less favourably

treated in terms of management positions and remuneration. There are wide

variations amongst the different minority groups, between men and women and in

geographical area. Health and education also play a role in the attainment of jobs

and levels of remuneration.

Policies and procedures are in place by many companies to eliminate racial

discrimination and many companies now see that there is a business advantage in

doing so. These policies being actively supported at the highest level in some

companies. Much still needs to be done in the private sector to create a more

equitable workplace.

2.2 Cultural Diversity in the Public Sector in the UK

In the UK the Public Sector provides necessary services that are supported by the

government either at national, regional or local level. These services may also be

supplied by companies that are either owned or controlled by government.

Examples of the public sector include the police and prison service, armed forces,

civil administration, social services and the management of transport infrastructure.

To a large extent, health and education is also part of the public sector but with a

private element. There is also a private element in the prison service.

2.2.1 Policy Changes

One major policy development which had a significant effect on the promotion of

race equality in the public sector was the revised legislative framework put in place

as a result of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. The new statutory duty to

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promote race equality will be a key lever in delivering the changes sought by the

Government.

The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 extended the Race Relations Act 1976

to public functions which were not previously covered, such as law enforcement. It

put specified public authorities under a general statutory duty to promote race

equality. In addition, some key public authorities, like central and local government,

were given specific duties to fulfil.

Changes were also made to the way that Census data is collected. The Census

2001 included a detailed examination of respondents’ ethnic origins. There were

sixteen categories against which a respondent can ascribe his or her ethnic origin.

The Home Office introduced a new social policy survey called the Citizenship

Survey. The survey is designed to meet the growing need for performance

measures to monitor the impact of a raft of new initiatives affecting citizen’s rights

and responsibilities. The survey will have a large minority ethnic booster sample.

This will allow Government to look in detail at how the findings for the various

ethnic groups compare with each other and the majority across a range of

indicators, including specific race equality issues.

2.2.2 The National Health Service

The National Health Service (NHS) recognises the need to tackle disadvantage in

all its forms, and meet the specific health needs of particular groups including

minority ethnic groups. Improving health is now a key priority for all government

departments and action will be taken to step up the cross-governmental focus on

health and inequalities. The NHS Plan sets out as a core principles that it should

shape its services around the needs and preferences of individual patients, their

families and their carers, including challenging racial discrimination.

The NHS recognises that ethnicity can be a key factor in health inequalities, and

states that the ‘inverse care law’, where communities in greatest need are least

likely to receive the health services that they require, still applies in too many parts

of the country. Inequity in access to services is not restricted to social class and

geography; people in minority ethnic communities are less likely to receive the

36

services they need. Many deprived communities are less likely than affluent ones

to receive heart surgery, hip replacements and many other services including

screening.

The NHS also states that there can be particular difficulties for older people from

minority ethnic communities in accessing services, which meet their needs and

wishes. This is of particular concern since many minority ethnic communities,

which became established in England in the latter half of the 20th century are

ageing, and will have increasing need for health services over the next 20 years.

The NHS gives commitments to tackling health inequalities for minority ethnic

groups by offering a free and nationally available translation and interpretation

service available from every NHS premises through NHS Direct. NHS Direct sites

already have contracts in place with interpreter services so that they can provide

the NHS Direct service in languages other than English. NHS Direct has already

provided its service in over 30 different languages, and the caller is not charged for

this service. NHS Direct is continuing to work on its provision of services for

minority ethnic communities, not only in terms of language but also to take account

of cultural difference and preference, to ensure that it is responsive to the needs of

these communities.

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Employment in the NHS

The overall percentage of minority ethnic group staff in the NHS workforce

compares well with the percentage in the working population as a whole. The

percentage of minority ethnic nurse returners since the launch of this year’s nurse

recruitment campaign is also in line with the percentage of these ethnic groups in

the working population. In October 2000, the Minister of State for Health,

announced plans to require all NHS organisations to set local targets for increasing

the representation of minority ethnic staff in sectors of the workforce where they

are currently under-represented. This and other measures to increase recruitment,

retention and development of minority ethnic staff were announced following a

summit held with key stakeholders to:

• Increase the number of Asian nurses, which is low compared to the

working population;

• Increase the representation of minority ethnic group staff in certain

occupation groups in the NHS where they are currently under-

represented

• Increase the number of minority ethnic group staff in senior

positions in the NHS

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The number of non-medical staff from ethnic minorities working in the NHS in

September 1999 is shown at Figure 5.

Figure 5 Non-medical staff in the NHS by ethnic origin

NHS HCHS NON MEDICAL STAFF BY ETHNIC ORIGIN ENGLAND AS AT 30 SEPTEMBER 1999

TOTAL WTE STAFF

(NUMBER = 100%) WHITE BLACK ASIAN OTHER UNKNOWN

All non-medical staff 721,770 89.3 3.6 1.6 1.8 3.7

Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visting Staff excluding Learners of which:

338,580 85.7 4.7 1.4 2.2 5.9

Qualified Staff 250,650 86.8 4.7 1.6 2.3 4.6

Unqualified Staff 87,440 82.5 4.8 0.9 2.0 9.8

Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting Staff Learners 1,880 85.0 6.6 1.0 3.1 4.4

Scientific, Therapeutic and Technical Staff of which: 107,090 94.3 1.6 1.6 1.3 1.3

Professions Allied to Medicine 45,700 94.3 1.6 1.6 1.3 1.3

Other Scientific Therapeutic and Technical Staff 61,390 90.8 2.5 3.0 1.9 1.7

Healthcare Assistants 21,410 90.6 4.6 1.5 1.7 2.4

Support Staff 64,200 90.7 3.9 1.3 1.7 2.4

Ambulance Staff 15,250 97.8 0.6 0.3 0.5 0.7

Administration and Estates Staff of which: 172,770 92.9 2.5 1.8 1.1 1.7

Administration Managers 23,380 94.8 1.7 1.3 1.0 1.2 Clerical and Administrative Staff 149,230 92.4 2.7 2.0 1.2 1.7

Other Staff 580 93.9 1.2 2.0 1.4 1.5

*HCHS: Hospital and Community Health Services Notes: Figures should be treated with caution as they are based on the 74% of the CHS organisations that reported 90% or more valid ethnic codes for non-medical staff Percentages were calculated from numbers of staff expressed as whole-time equivalents/

Non-Executive Appointments

The NHS is one body where the Government is committed to achieving better

representation

on all public bodies for people from minority ethnic communities. The goal for non-

executive appointments to NHS boards and for members of Department of Health

Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) was that at least 7% should come from

a minority ethnic background. The Department has surpassed this goal for both

sets of bodies, the figure for non-executives on NHS boards now standing at

39

12.3%, and members of NDPBs having risen to 10.9%. The following figures

demonstrate the progress made in recent years.

The proportion of Department of Health non-executive public appointments from

minority ethnic communities between 1996 and 2000 were as follows

2.2.3 Social Services

Diversity and equality are central to the Government’s policy on social services,

and are key to the provision of high quality services. The Social Services White

Paper Modernising Social Services (1998) laid down the Government’s

commitment to fair access to care and to improved monitoring. It made clear that

services should be available to all those who need them, and should take account

of the race, culture and religion of users. This commitment was reinforced by the

Quality Strategy for Social Care, published in August 2000, which states that social

services should be a dynamic, positive force in tackling inequality and promoting

social inclusion. Services should respond to the needs of all members of the

community, and the potential of diversity within the workforce should be

maximised. The document makes clear that equality is at the heart of quality

services, setting out that the active promotion of the Government’s agenda on

valuing diversity is intrinsic to any quality strategy; and that services that

discriminate or exclude potential users of services from their communities are not,

by definition, excellent services.

Examples of good practice initiatives in the wider community include the following.

Information packs for carers of Young Black People

In Liverpool an information pack for carers of black young people was put together

by the black residential child care support team. The pack contained information on

organisations which would be useful to those caring for black children both in terms

of their day to day care and their wider socialisation. Foster carers looking after

black children said that they found the pack particularly useful.

Interpreting Services in Buckinghamshire

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Buckinghamshire Social Services Department recruited and trained interpreters

over a period of 18 weeks. Interpreters were taught to translate ‘nothing left out,

nothing added’. Social workers were also given a two-day training course on

‘working with clients through an interpreter’. This enabled both staff and

interpreters to work together effectively.

2.2.4 The Benefits Agency

The Benefits Agency is responsible for the administration of government welfare

programmes. There is an annual consultation at a national level with organisations

representing minority ethnic people. Guidance has been issued to local BA offices,

which emphasises the importance of consulting local customer organisations. A

good practice Guide ‘Service Delivery to Minority Ethnic Customers’ is available to

staff. BA has a code of practice on the provision of interpreters and a customer

service requirement that, where it is necessary to interview a customer who does not

speak English or Welsh, and cannot or does not wish to provide their own

interpreter, arrangements must be made for the provision of interpreting services

within 24 hours of the need being established.

Some BA districts serving large minority ethnic communities provide advice and

information surgeries in local community centres etc. Some of these districts have

community or ethnic liaison officers, fluent in minority ethnic languages, whose

main role is to improve links with the local community, assist in the making of

benefit claims and provide benefit information.

The following table (Figure 5) shows the percentage of people claiming state

benefits by ethnic group and gender across the country. It shows that fewer white

people claim state benefits than people from ethnic minority groups. This is not

surprising given the lower economic activity rates and higher unemployment rates

for ethnic minorities. In England 32.5 per cent of people of working age claim state

benefits, of which 32 per cent of white people claim and 37.3 per cent of ethnic

minorities claim. Whilst there were difference in claiming rates by gender, for men

19.7 per cent claimed compared with 46.7 per cent of women, the white – ethnic

minority gap was roughly the same (5.1 per cent for men and 4.9 per and for

women).

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In 1997, the Benefits Agency began a major review of its external information

provision, to make it more customer focused and user friendly. This involved:

• Production of clearer leaflets

• Targeting the information for customers, rather than for the BA’s

staff

• Basing information on what customers need to know in order to

decide whether to pursue a claim.

Figure 5 Benefit Claims by Gender and Ethnicity

A new range of ethnic language information sheets was produced in Arabic,

Bengali, Chinese, Gujurati, Punjabi, Somali, Urdu and Vietnamese. The

advantages of providing information in this format were

• the information can be sign-posted by client group needs;

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• customers are only provided with the information they require;

• individual information sheets can be updated when required,

reducing production time and costs.

Although information was being provided in appropriate languages, awareness

amongst minority ethnic communities of the information sheets was very low. The

BA therefore decided to adopt a new approach to marketing to minority ethnic

audiences. Information was tailored to two distinct audiences: the minority ethnic

public directly; and the adviser network, made up of community heads and

advisers representing grassroots organisations run ‘by the community for the

community’. A sustained presence across television, radio and press, broadcast in

the target audience’s mother tongue, allowed for messages to be received in a

familiar environment, especially important for less accessible groups such as

Muslim women. The messages informed of the existence of the information sheets

and where they could be obtained. The products were also placed on the website.

A specially enhanced database containing over 700 ethnic organisations,

community groups etc was also developed. The adviser audience could then be

reached through direct mail.

2.2.5 The Police

The preservation of law and order remains an imperative for Britain. The delivery of

law and order services can be skewed to the disadvantage of members of the

minority ethnic communities. Government reaction to criticisms of the police was

the announcement in June 1999 of a new Ministerial Priority for the police service,

supported by Key Performance Indicators. This Priority to increase trust and

confidence in policing amongst minority ethnic communities continues to be

included in initiatives taken. Police performance against this Priority was measured

in 1999/00 by four Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):

• The number of recorded racist incidents;

• The use of stop and search procedures and their impact on

different ethnic groups;

• Levels of recruitment, retention and progression of minority ethnic

staff;

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• Surveys of public satisfaction, where they are available, by different

ethnic groups.

In March 2004 there were 4,629 minority ethnic police officers in the 43 forces of

England and Wales – an increase of 715 (18%) in the previous twelve months and

an increase of 1,243 officers since the last milestone in March 2002. Minority

ethnic police officers then accounted for 3.3% of all officers compared with 2.9% in

March 2003. The Metropolitan Police have the largest proportion of minority ethnic

officers (6.6% of total strength), followed closely by West Midlands (6.2%). In

Leicestershire 4.7% of police officers come from minority ethnic communities and

in Bedfordshire the figure is 4.5%. The Police Service has also made great strides

in increasing minority ethnic representation in police staff roles and the Special

Constabulary.

In March 2004 there were 4,526 minority ethnic police staff, accounting for 6% of

the total. This represents an increase of 878 from last year and a 0.7% increase

from the last milestone in March 2002. Within this group there were 3,418 Police

Community Support Officers, of whom 17% were from minority ethnic

backgrounds.

There are now 542 minority ethnic Special Constables – 5% of total. This

represents an increase of 69 over the last twelve months and an increase from

3.6% since the last milestone in March 2002: refer to Figure 7.

Although significant progress has been made, trying to meet the 2004 milestone

was challenging. The 4% target for minority ethnic police officers was narrowly

missed (at 3.3%). However, the 5% target for minority ethnic Special Constables

and the 6% target for police staff were both achieved.

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Figure 6 Targets for police recruitment of ethnic minorities by 2009

Total minority ethnic police personnel on 31 March 2004 – including police officers,

Special Constables and police staff – as a proportion of the overall strength stood

at 4.3%. This represents an increase of 0.5% from March 2003 but misses the

overall notional milestone of 4.6%.

Individual police forces across the country have responded with their own initiatives

and these are a few examples.

Cleveland Police – Race Against Crime

This was launched to develop harmonious inter-race relations and improve cultural

awareness amongst young people. It was promoted by introducing an artwork

competition for secondary school pupils aged 11 to 16 years. Youngsters are

encouraged to produce posters and information leaflets highlighting racism as a

crime. A total of 24 schools expressed an interest in taking part. Each school was

presented with a training pack so that the youngsters could evaluate the effect of

their own and others’ behaviour.

Derbyshire Constabulary

Equity Through Diversity – The Constabulary has taken steps to combat racism

and build upon the existing community consultation process. In 1999-2000, an

internal guidance document was produced which set the standards for all staff, in

order to eliminate discrimination. The Home Office target for the recruiting and

progressing of minority ethnic officers was met and surpassed. The force’s

continued work within the force strategic plan Equity Through Diversity, has

enabled the force to set clear priorities for further developments. The Commission

45

for Racial Equality’s Leadership Challenge was re-affirmed by the Deputy Chief

Constable in 2000.

Merseyside Police

Merseyside Police has established the first multi-agency task group to deal with

antisocial behaviour orders. Additionally, a Merseyside Racial Harassment

Prevention Unit was launched with funding from the Safer Merseyside Partnership

and Merseyside Health Action Zone.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary

The Inspectorate published a report of their third race equality inspection of all

police forces in England and Wales. This provides a comprehensive picture of

forces’ progress against government targets. The inspection benchmarks forces

against the recommendations of previous race and community relations

inspections, The Home Secretary’s race equality targets for recruitment, retention

and career progression programme – in particular and the Home Secretary’s race

equality targets for recruitment, retention and career progression.

2.2.6 The Armed Forces

The Armed Forces remain committed to playing a central role in the Government’s

drive to improve race equality in the public sector. The three Services aim is to

develop an organisational culture that welcomes diversity and places the highest

priority in rooting out racism. Equal Opportunities is a key feature of the Armed

Forces Overarching Personnel Strategy (AFOPS), launched by the Secretary of

State for Defence in February 2000. AFOPS seeks to provide a coherent statement

of vision, strategic guidance and direction for the Armed Forces’ personnel policy in

the new millennium. Within AFOPS, Personnel Strategy Guideline 15 provides a

definitive statement of policy, consistent with the Armed Forces Equal

Opportunities goal. Together with the corporate goal, AFOPS and its associate

principles will continue to contribute to the creation of a more representative Armed

Forces, with standards of behaviour in which fairness, decency and respect for

others are central.

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The Armed Forces continue to work within the framework of the five-year

Partnership Agreement with the Commission for Racial Equality, signed in March

1998. A key feature of the Partnership Agreement was the setting of minority ethnic

recruitment goals. In 2000 the goal was 4%, rising to 5% in 2001/2002. As at 1

December 2000, there were some 2,985 serving personnel from minority ethnic

backgrounds in the Armed Forces, representing 1.45% of the total Armed Forces

strength (Naval Service 0.9%, Army 1.8%, RAF 1.1%).

Equal Opportunities training for Service Equal Opportunities Advisers (EOAs) and

Senior Officers at the Tri-Service Equal Opportunities Training Centre, Shrivenham

has remained central to the drive to eradicate unacceptable behaviour in the

Armed Forces. The 5 day EOA course has been accredited by the Chartered

Institute of Personnel and Development (IPD). As at 1 December 2000, some 722

Senior Officers (and their civilian equivalents) and 2,000 EOAs had been trained in

this way.

Army

Creativity and innovation put the British Army at the top of Race for Opportunity’s

top ten performers in the public sector for the fifth successive year at the awards in

June 2005. An example of this is having a recruitment stand at the Afro Hair and

Beauty Show at a major exhibition centre in London Alexander Palace). - quite

possibly the last place that people might expect to see an Army recruitment stand.

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy has introduced cross-cultural communications training course with

the aim of ensuring that those staff who interview potential recruits are sufficiently

aware of cultural issues, so that useful discussion and appropriate questions can

be asked at interview, and candidates’ views, interests and relevant experience

can be explored. Introduction of this initiative has improved interview techniques

and allowed a more sensitive assessment of candidates’ abilities and potential to

be made. An initial study was conducted in February 2000 and training

commenced in June 2000. The programme is ongoing and involves cultural

education, enhanced communication skills training and the development of

interview techniques. Candidates now have more opportunity to express

47

themselves and are encouraged to draw on references from their own culture and

experience at interview. It is an acknowledgement of the way in which unconscious

bias can operate to disadvantage candidates, even in an organisation, which is

highly conscious of its conduct.

The Royal Navy (RN) has also introduced Personal Development Courses This

initiative is primarily aimed at youth groups and schools in inner city areas with

large African-Caribbean or Asian communities. The Royal Navy is providing up to

50 courses a year. These courses present young people with an opportunity to

spend a week at one of the RN’s new entry training colleges, have a look at Naval

life and see for themselves how training is conducted and the employment

opportunities on offer. Supervised by mentors from their sponsoring organisations,

the young people participate in training activities, including fire fighting, sea

survival, replenishment at sea, seamanship, ceremonial drills and the Royal

Marines assault course. As a result of these initiatives their new entry colleges are

able to develop their skills in the management of culturally diverse students and

demonstrate the wide range of opportunities on offer to young people from families

with little or no knowledge of naval life.

2.2.7 Local Government: Haringey Borough Council

Haringey is one of 32 London Boroughs. It is located to the north of the capital and

has an area of about 11 square miles. It is home to a culturally and ethnically

diverse population of about 224,700. According to data from 2001 Census, over

54% of the population are Non-White British; Black African and Black Caribbean

communities, with 10% and 11% respectively, together account for over a fifth of

the population. The Asian community make up about 6.7% of the population,

Haringey has a large Irish community. About 16% is classified as ‘Other Whites’,

the third largest of this category in London. This category includes the Turkish,

Creek, Cypriots and Kurdish communities and people from Eastern Europe and the

other European countries.

The ethnic diversity of the Borough is reflected in the numbers of languages

spoken in Haringey. It is estimated that about half of all pupils in Haringey schools

48

speak English as a second language, and in 2003 over 160 languages were

reported to be spoken in homes in Haringey.

It is clear that Haringey’s population is characterised by a rich diversity of ethnicity.

The diverse communities contribute to the local economy and variety in the cultural

life of the borough, making it one of the most vibrant and exciting places in London

to live and work.

Diversity inevitably gives rise to different needs, and the diverse nature of the

borough means that needs and aspirations differ from and within communities.

This challenges the Council to constantly look for ways to improve how it reaches

its local people and how it provides services so that they are appropriate and meet

the needs of the different communities in the Haringey. This rich diversity also

challenges the Council to foster good relations between people and build a

borough where every individual and community feels part of and has equal access

to opportunities to improve their lives and contribute the life of the community the

live in.

Haringey is a tribute to community relations, in that, despite this high ethnic mix of

its population, the different communities bye-and large get on well and live

peacefully with each other. There is a recognition of a common destiny, and a

genuine desire to make multi-ethnic, multi-cultural Haringey work for all its people.

Haringey Council has worked hard over the years to bring this about, and remains

committed to working for a community where all who live or work in it feel at home,

at peace and equally served.

Haringey has a good history on Equal Opportunity. It is quite rightly seen as a

Council that has a strong commitment to equal opportunities, and has been at the

cutting edge of developments in this field.

The Council has always been mindful of the need to take account of the diversity of

its population in the way it employs its staff and develops its services. It first and

adopted a comprehensive and formalised equal opportunities policy document in

1986. That policy document shaped the work on equal opportunities for the rest of

the decade to 1992, and enabled the Council to achieve its initial employment

target of 40% black and ethnic minorities by 1993.

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Haringey’s approach to equal opportunities is ‘Mainstreaming’. The approach was

formulated in a policy document, ‘From the Margins to the Mainstream’, adopted in

1992. ‘Mainstreaming’ in Haringey means that equal opportunity is made integral to

policy making, planning, designing and delivering services, in employment of

practices and in managing performance of activities at every level of the Council.

2.2.8 Examples of bad practice in the Public Sector

Home Office Police Study

There is no national police force in the UK: each area has its own constabulary.

Institutional racism still blights the policing of black and minority ethnic communities

in London, according to Home Office research carried out after the murder of a

black man, an unsatisfactory police investigation, and a subsequent major enquiry

(the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report). Stephen Lawrence, a black teenager, was

murdered by a gang of white youths in a South London suburb. The subsequent

police enquiry was considered to be inadequately conducted with eye witness

evidence ignored and the investigation given a low priority by the police. The

subsequent Macpherson Report and enquiry found that that the police were

institutionally racist this being “the collective failure of an organisation to provide

an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture

or ethnic origin”.

A study by the London School of Economics Mannheim Centre for Criminology has

found there have since been ‘substantial and positive changes’ in policing. These

included improving police response to hate crime, managing murder investigations,

liasing with local communities and excising racist language from the service.

However, the criminologists said progress had been confined to changes that were

‘most obviously identifiable and achievable’, with the result that the institutional

racism identified by the Lawrence inquiry in 1999 still remained to be understood

and tackled by the police. The study found that the police had been successful in

eliminating racist language among staff - a marked change to the climate within the

force as little as 10 years ago. But the research, which included a national survey

of police officers, also found that women and minority staff believed the change in

language was largely cosmetic.

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Consultations with minority communities had improved, but the study said there

were continuing difficulties in routine police working practices that stemmed from a

failure to recognise differences in the way the police were seen in different

communities. Inappropriate or poor service by individual officers was often

perceived as racist, and minority ethnic groups still expected to be discriminated

against. The study, carried out between 2002 and 2004, found police officers

overwhelmingly believed the service had improved since the Lawrence inquiry and

that their dealings with minority ethnic groups were under much greater scrutiny.

Avon and Somerset Police

A pioneering campaign by Avon and Somerset police to increase the number of

women and ethnic minority officers in its ranks has been withdrawn following

advice that it may discriminate against white men. Around 3.9% of Avon and

Somerset's population of around 1.5 million is from a non-white background. The

scheme, launched in the summer of 2005, was intended to redress under-

representation of the area's diverse communities but resulted in complaints to the

Commission for Racial Equality and the Equal Opportunities Commission.

Applications from 186 white males were rejected before the interview stage in

favour of those from women and from non-white backgrounds. It was concluded

that positive action - helping applicants prepare for recruitment procedures or

advertising in ethnic minority publications - is permitted but positive discrimination

is illegal. The Chief Constable, Colin Port, has defended the innovative approach:

'Last summer we tried to do something different. Through use of positive

action and using the model of the Disability Discrimination Act we

intended to recruit officers that more accurately reflect the diverse

communities we serve. ‘We considered this represented an untried and

untested area. It was not and has never been our intention to

discriminate against anyone who applies for a position with the Avon

and Somerset constabulary.. We will think again about how we can

continue to recruit from under-represented groups.. until that balance

has been redressed.'

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The chairman of the race and diversity committee of the Association of Chief Police

Officers said police forces were being damned for failing to recruit enough ethnic

minority and women officers, and damned when they tried new ways of diversifying

their workforce.

2.2.9 Summary of the Public Sector

The public sector in the UK is quite diverse and is a major employer of ethnic

minority workers. The sector generally sees the need to both recruit more

members of the ethnic minorities and to ensure that the supply of its services to

minority groups is equitable. Social service departments of local government and

the Benefits Agency run by central government have both been active in

establishing policies to reach vulnerable clients in ethnic communities who have

language difficulties.

Some areas of the public service, such as the armed forces and the police, have

been considered by some to be racially prejudiced organisations and these bodies

have taken many measure to address this perception and correct imbalances

where they occur. In many instances this policy has been successful but in others

these policies have not met with success. The police across the country have

introduced many schemes to create a harmonious atmosphere between

themselves and their ethnic populations.

Many organisations have introduced targets to measure the success of their

recruitment policies and aim to employ more members of ethnic minorities and

work closely with government bodies in formulating policies and procedures to

achieve their goals.

2.3 Cultural Diversity in Education in the UK

2.3.1 Teachers

The Teacher Training Agency has developed a three-year strategy to assist Initial

Teacher Training (ITT) providers to train new teachers in a way that enables them

to tackle attainment problems amongst all their pupils.

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Training for new teachers to enable them to deal with ethnically and culturally

diverse classes is already part of the teacher-training curriculum. It has just been

strengthened by the introduction of new Professional Standards for Qualified

Teacher Status (QTS). The latest annual survey of Newly Qualified Teachers

(NQTs) carried out by the TTA showed that many newly-qualified teachers felt that

their initial teacher-training had not equipped them sufficiently well to teach pupils

from diverse backgrounds. Indeed, as many as four- fifths of current cohorts of

student teachers expect to teach in ethnically diverse schools at some point in their

careers. It is important that the TTA monitors the impacts and progress through an

annual survey of ITT providers and by tracking responses in the NQT survey. In

past consultations with stakeholders, it was often commented that inner city LEAs

and schools frequently have to retrain teachers who have only just passed their

initial training, to enable them to work in multi-ethnic classrooms.

This support will help teacher-training bodies understand how to fulfil the demands

of the new Professional Standards. DfES, the TTA and the National College for

School

Leadership are working with the Commission for Racial Equality, Ofsted and

Independent teacher-training experts on both guidance and a matching inspection

framework. With Ofsted’s new inspection framework and the TTA’s three-year

strategy, it is vital to monitor and assess the impacts of these changes at

classroom level.

There is also a need to address how teachers should be trained and supported in

engaging ethnic minority parents in order to help their children achieve their full

potential. Those groups with English language problems, such as Bangladeshis,

will benefit from teachers who are better able to incorporate language development

into the teaching of a wide range of subjects. Groups often characterised by low

expectations or behaviour problems, such as Black Caribbeans, should benefit

from teachers who are better able to identify these issues and provide solutions.

Careful scrutiny of data at a school or LEA level will be needed to assess which

groups benefit the most from these reforms.

53

About 6.3% of college teachers are from black or other minority ethnic groups, with

much higher proportions in London than elsewhere. The aim is to increase

recruitment from under-represented groups, so that the workforce better reflects

the learner population. The Black Leadership Initiative aims to increase the current

3% of college managers from minority ethnic groups.

There have been tangible improvements in the representation of women and

people from minority ethnic groups within the higher education academic

workforce. The proportion of women has risen from 27% in 1995/96 to 35% in

2003/04. Over the same time period, the proportion of staff from minority ethnic

backgrounds has risen from 6% to 8% since 1995/6. However, these

improvements are against a relatively low base.

2.3.2 Parents

It is crucial to recognise the impact of culture on parental involvement, as well as

the needs, in certain circumstances, of lone parent families. Examples include:

connecting bilingual teachers with non- English speaking parents; links to

community centres; flexible visiting hours to allow for work and religious

requirements; visits to parents in their own homes through home-school liaison

officers; classes to explain how the curriculum and examination systems work; and

the opportunities available for exercising parental choice in education.

St Martin-in-the-Fields High School

St Martin-in-the-Fields High School is a comprehensive girls’ 11–16 school in

Lambeth, south London where 88% of the pupil population are of ethnic minority

heritage, with Black Caribbean pupils forming 33 per cent of the school population.

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is 36.5 per cent, well above

the national average.

The school sees the objective of developing a regular and wide-ranging dialogue

as being to ensure that the school and parents share a common understanding of

values and aspirations. This means that parents receive up-to-date assessments of

progress, including estimated grades and information about what needs to be done

to achieve them. The Black Caribbean parents are very supportive of classes held

54

on Saturdays and of the wide range of out-of-school activities, but the school has

worked hard to develop the trust especially of the considerable number who have

had poor personal experiences of education and who are somewhat sceptical

about or intimidated by the idea of school. The school has, for example, offered

evenings for the parents on the management of pupils’ behaviour and its impact on

learning, and is quick to alert the parents if a pupil’s learning is being adversely

affected.

2.3.3 Students

The proportion of pupils who get five or more GCSE grades at A*-C is much lower

amongst Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi pupils, especially boys, than amongst

Whites – although Indian attainment at GCSE level is actually higher than the

White population. Variances in educational outcomes are most clearly evident in

compulsory education:

Bangladeshi, Black and Pakistani pupils achieve less highly than other pupils at

most key stages, particularly at GCSE level. Conversely, Chinese and Indian pupils

out-perform Whites at GCSE. Whilst performance levels differ, the general trend in

the proportion of young people from all ethnic groups gaining five or more GCSEs

(grade A*-C) has been upwards.

There are important gender differences in educational outcome. Black Caribbean

girls achieve better GCSE results than their male counterparts. The apparent

convergence between White and Black Caribbean GCSE results masks the fact

that the gap for boys is not closing – a disturbing outcome which points away from

convergence of outcomes in the labour market.

The following chart illustrates the disparities between groups of different ethnicity,

age and gender, as measured by the proportion with no qualifications.

55

Figure 7 Percentage of people with no British qualifications

Percentage of People with no British Qualifications by Ethnic Group, Gender and Generation

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

First-generation

Men

SecondGeneration

Men

First-generation

Women

SecondGeneration

Women

White

Black Caribbean

India

Pakistan

Generation is perhaps the single most important determinant of educational

outcomes: the number of people in the second-generation with no qualifications is

at least half that in the first, for all groups and both sexes. Nevertheless, there are

significant points for concern. For example, whilst the number of second-

generation Black Caribbean men and women getting degrees has increased

greatly when compared with their pa rents, they have not significantly closed the

gap on other groups.

Furthermore, Pakistani second-generation men and women, despite greater

participation at degree level than their White counterparts, also lead the tables for

those groups with no qualifications. As with other data in the report, this suggests a

bifurcation of educational experience, with disproportionate numbers experiencing

both good and bad outcomes. Additionally, a significant number of ethnic minority

groups suffer from English language deficiencies, a fact that impacts considerably

on the extent of their social and economic integration. Research into the labour

market outcomes of first-generation ethnic minorities has found that immigrants

Source: Panel One - Cumulated GHS 1973-1979; Panel Two - cumulated LFS 1991-1997 in Britain. Note: First-generation refers to those born 1940-59 and surveyed in the 1970s; second-generation refers to those born 1960-79 and surveyed in the 1990s.

56

who are fluent in English language have, on average, wages about 20 per cent

higher than non-fluent individuals.

2.3.4 Government Policies in Education

Members of some ethnic minority groups, such as Pakistanis, Black Caribbeans

and Bangladeshis, have disproportionately poor skills and few qualifications.

Moreover, there is overwhelming evidence that Black Caribbean and Pakistani

groups are failing to close the gap between their educational attainment levels in

schools and those of the White average. These disparities will continue to have

negative impacts on productivity, social cohesion and the prosperity of ethnic

minority communities. The government has a policy framework, underpinned by

practical measures to break this cycle and to help close the attainment gap in both

schools and the labour market.

2.3.5 Policy Background

Education, training and skills have been the focus of policy-makers’ attention for a

century or more, reflecting concerns about Britain’s economic performance and the

social consequences of a poorly-educated and less-trained workforce. The history

of educational responses to ethnic minority pupils can be characterised as a

transition from viewing them as a problem to be dealt with to the contemporary

multicultural view of diversity being an asset to the school environment. In the early

1960s, the initial response of a number of Local Education Authorities (LEAs) to

Black Caribbean and South Asian immigration was to disperse immigrant pupils

across schools to limit their concentration in any one area. The rationale for this

was the belief that high concentrations of immigrant children in a school would

undermine the educational process. In this period, there were also targeted

measures to address the particular difficulties that some ethnic minority children

faced.

By 1966, the Government had become aware that local authorities with significant

inflows of New Commonwealth migrants were in need of additional funding to pay

for extra staffing. This was supplied by the Home Office under Section 11 of the

Local Government Act (1966), through a funding stream, which was ultimately

replaced by the Ethnic Minorities Achievement Grant (EMAG) in April 1999.

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Evidence of a change in approach came in the early 1970s with the Department for

Education and Science publication The Education of Immigrants: Education Survey

13. This said that schools needed to be aware of the needs of different ethnic

minority groups and warned them about potential tensions between immigrant

pupils and their White peers. However, the most significant change occurred in

1985. The Swann Report, Education for All, was commissioned explicitly to

address equality and attainment issues regarding ethnic minority pupils. It called

for a change in the mindset of Government, from ‘coping’ with ethnic minority

children to developing an education system capable of teaching all children:

‘the fundamental change that is necessary is the recognition that the problem

facing the education system is not how to educate children of ethnic minorities,

but how to educate all children.’

The focus of educationalists in this field since the Swann Report has been on how

to enact this change. Developments have included an increase in the quantity and

quality of research on good practice, reform of the way schools are inspected for

race equality and changes to teacher-training.

2.3.6 Current Policy

The current Government has implemented measures specifically aimed at

increasing attainment among ethnic minority communities. At the national level, the

Department for Education and Skills has consulted widely on all matters relating to

ethnic minority education and employment. This has been through ministerial

advisory groups and national conferences, as well as through formal written

consultations on EMAG and ethnic background data collection. LEAs and schools

have been asked to submit projections for ethnic minority attainment in the coming

years. The Government has introduced a study for a citizenship programme in the

National Curriculum and has encouraged Ofsted inspections to review the way

schools take account of, and value, pupils’ cultural diversity, and how they combat

racism.

The Government has not previously set educational attainment targets by ethnic

group on the grounds that education and other policies should be focused on

raising attainment levels amongst all disadvantaged groups. However, there has

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been a clear expectation that policies aimed at raising attainment levels amongst

pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds will disproportionately benefit ethnic

minorities. Indeed, major programmes such as the National Strategies for

Numeracy and Literacy, Beacon Schools, Specialist Schools and Excellence in

Cities are all expected to have disproportionate benefits in low social class areas

and should consequently help to reduce the gap. Indeed, some evaluations report

that these programmes are already having positive impacts on ethnic minority

groups. However, the persistence of ethnic minority educational under-attainment

suggests that there may be a case for a different approach.

DfES has already implemented, and will continue to implement, a series of policies

which are directly and indirectly targeted at closing the attainment gap between low

achieving ethnic minority groups and the White average. These policies include

• Excellence in Cities

• Extended, Specialist and Beacon Schools,

• Sure Start

• DfES’ ethnic minority achievement strategy.

Additional resources have also been allocated including the Ethnic Minorities

Achievement Grant (EMAG) with a ring-fenced fund worth £154 million a year. An

additional £410 million a year is also allocated according to numbers of pupils with

English as an additional language in the primary sector and numbers of pupils in

lower-achieving ethnic minority groups in the secondary sector.

2.3.7 Inspection

It is important that the systems for inspecting educational establishments are both

thorough and constructive when dealing with ethnic minority attainment problems.

Ofsted’s school inspection framework has been completely revised, and took effect

from September 2003. Following a critical CRE report in 2000, and in light of the

requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, this new framework

gives greater emphasis to evaluating differential achievement and reporting on

underachieving groups. Specifically, it requires inspectors to evaluate and report

on the school’s results and other performance data, reporting any variations

59

between different subjects and groups of pupils, assessing, as appropriate, the

school’s analysis of how different groups of pupils perform. The inspectors also

need to focus on how well pupils achieve in each key stage, highlighting the

achievement of different groups and assessing, as appropriate, the relative

progress of groups and individuals, especially those of different ethnic minority

backgrounds.

Other parts of the evaluation schedule contained in the new framework relate

closely to social and school-centred reasons why some ethnic minorities

underachieve.

The schedule covers, for example, racism and harassment, fluency in English and

provision for the cultural development of pupils’ and teachers’ expectations.

2.3.8 Response by Institutions

Publishing attainment data by ethnicity is one such way of encouraging schools to

pay more attention to the size and causes of ethnic attainment gaps, and so to

close them. This would lead to several beneficial outcomes:

• incentivising schools to confront differential under-attainment by

ethnic group;

• encouraging parents of ethnic minority pupils in schools failing

particular ethnic minority groups, to put pressure for change on the

school

• better information on schools failing particular ethnic minority

pupils, meaning parents could avoid such schools when deciding

where to send their children.

The introduction of the Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC), and the

creation of the National Pupil Database (NPD) by linking it to pupil attainment data,

makes available, for the first time, robust data on differential educational attainment

by ethnic group. This data is gathered from schools via LEAs, processed and

published by DfES and is made available to schools and LEAs as a management

tool. In addition, the TTA strategy on diversity aims to equip all trainee teachers

with the skills to interrogate the data available to them to identify

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underachievement of individuals. Using the PLASC/NPD platform, the principle

could be extended and data made available to parents also, through the Ofsted

parental summary report. This summary should draw upon and highlight patterns

identified through quantitative data, where appropriate. If ethnically-disaggregated

results are of serious concern, they should be identified in the summary report –

not only as a weakness of the school, but also as a key issue for improvement.

High achievement by different groups in a multi-ethnic school should also be

reported, together with strategies that have proved effective.

2.3.9 Primary (ages 5 – 11)

The Office for Standards in Education ( OFSTED ) has conducted an investigation

into a number of primary schools with high numbers of Black Caribbean pupils in

order to discover Good Practices in the education of these children. It has been

widely considered that this group do poorly at school. Obtaining accurate data has

been difficult over the years. The evidence that has been available from individual

local education authorities (LEAs) has tended to show that the relative

performance of Black Caribbean pupils begins high, starts to decline in Key Stage

2, tails off badly in Key Stage 3 and is below that of most other ethnic groups at

Key Stage 4. Such data reinforce the findings of detailed studies of schools and

LEAs in OFSTED’s reports.

Black Caribbean pupils also appear to be in trouble in school more often than their

peers. The rate at which Black Caribbean pupils are excluded from school has

declined over the past two years, but, as the latest figures for exclusions from

maintained primary schools demonstrate, they are still over three times more likely

to be excluded from school than the average for other groups.

The report found that the successful schools had a policy of a strong commitment

to equal opportunities. Their policies against racism were unambiguous and direct.

The schools instilled confidence in all their pupils and maintained a strong sense of

community and the teaching staff had high expectations of the pupils.

The report came to a number of conclusions. The first was to develop the

confidence and sophistication of schools in approaching ethnic diversity. One key

to this is the analysis of data. There is a continued need to prompt the effective use

61

of data to focus attention and resources. Along with this comes the need for open

debate in schools and with parents and the wider community about barriers to

achievement and responses to schools. What do staff, pupils and parents think

about barriers to achievement? Where does ‘race’ sit in this school alongside the

other dimensions of sex, culture, religion and class? What should be done in

school to discuss attitudes and responses and to address discrimination? Which

strategies are likely to achieve results?

The second issue is how to integrate specific action on minority ethnic

achievement within mainstream improvement initiatives. One clear, and very

familiar, message from the success of these schools is that action on minority

ethnic achievement is not something to be pursued as an after-thought or by a few

committed people: it needs to be central to the school’s basic systems and

approaches and made relevant to all staff. Where the Ethnic Minority Achievement

Grant is available, it gives a basis for this development. Aside from this, there is

scope for more deliberate signalling, encouragement and exemplification of good

practice in responding to ethnic diversity within broad improvement initiatives and

within the curriculum as a whole.

The third issue – and the one on which work has been least systematic to date – is

to improve connections between schools and other local services in joint action on

social inclusion. The national strategy for neighbourhood renewal highlights the

need for more to be done across the public services to focus on the inclusion of

disadvantaged groups as a matter of basic principle and routine. Schools are

receiving less help than they need in this respect and many schools in ethnically

diverse areas are under great pressure as a result.

2.3.10 Secondary (ages 11 – 16 and 19)

Recent government research has found that Local Education Authority (LEA)

support for the attainment of pupils from minority ethnic groups is still too variable,

but it is improving. A considerable number of LEAs with large proportions of pupils

from minority ethnic groups or with small numbers of isolated pupils manage the

provision for them very well. A number of important, though familiar, issues, such

as the high rate of exclusion of African and Caribbean boys, are more securely on

62

LEAs’ agenda. However, the planning of provision for pupils from minority ethnic

groups contained in education development plans is too often ineffective.

Ways of working have changed and the new strategic role has been sensitively

developed. Some LEAs have relocated the central EMAG support team so that it

now sits within the team responsible for school improvement and is more closely

involved with mainstream work on achievement, although there is scope for closer

links with advisers. The following table (Figure 9) shows pupil examination

attainment by ethnic group for the GCSE examination, commonly taken at ages 15

-16.

Figure 8 School pupils achievement at age 15+

The characteristics of effective LEA management of support for raising the

attainment of pupils from minority ethnic groups are:

• clear delineation of responsibilities;

• genuine delegation of management responsibilities to schools;

• a clear understanding of shared principles;

• an acceptance by schools that support for raising the attainment of

pupils from minority ethnic groups is integral to the pursuit of higher

standards;

• the use of attainment data to identify need;

• the allocation of funding and the deployment of staff to meet need;

63

• competent specialist staff, with effective arrangements for

supporting their development;

• contingency funding to cope with unpredictable influxes of pupils;

• detailed joint planning at the LEA and school level.

Denbigh High School

Denbigh High School is a mixed community school in the heart of industrial Luton.

It handles an intake of 11-16 year olds, 92 per cent of whom are from ethnic

minority backgrounds. The vast majority (75 per cent) of these are Bangladeshi

and Pakistani. The proportion of pupils receiving free school meals is 54 per cent,

and turnover of new pupils is high. Despite these multiple compounding

challenges, GCSE results are extremely impressive, with 49 per cent of pupils

receiving five or more A*-C grade GCSEs. Furthermore, over 85 per cent of pupils

stay in education after 16. Both these figures are comparable to or better than the

national average. Denbigh’s success has not come about through chance. In 1991,

it was a struggling school, with only 14 per cent of pupils achieving five good

GCSE grades and exclusions running at 10 per cent. Methods used in the process

of transformation have included: rigorous monitoring and analysis of data;

systematic sharing of good practice; target-setting; rewarding of success; involving

pupils in school governance; continual parental engagement; and institutionalising

and articulating raised expectations.

St Bonaventure’s School

St Bonaventure’s School is an 11–18 boys’ voluntary-aided comprehensive school

in Newham. The school is ethnically mixed, with Black Caribbean pupils forming 14

per cent of the pupil population. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school

meals is above the national average, at 26 per cent. The curriculum at St

Bonaventure’s is of conventional subject-based design, with a substantial after-

hours programme providing enrichment. Threaded through it are opportunities for

pupils to extend experience and skills. A number are given the opportunity to

attend the Catholic Association for Racial Justice conference each year. The

religious education curriculum recognises the diversity of worship traditions within

Catholicism and other religions. Through residential attendance at a university’s

64

annual Black Science Enrichment Programme, the boys involved learn to

understand that careers in science are open to them and what they need to do to

gain access to them. The school’s rich extra-curricular provision includes sports

rarely catered for in the local community, such as golf and sailing, as well as many

music and drama opportunities, homework and Saturday clubs and study support

in the holidays.

Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership

The Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership (EBP) mentoring scheme

operates in a highly diverse community, both culturally and economically. Of the

38,000 pupils registered at all Tower Hamlets schools, 70 per cent are from ethnic

minority groups, compared with 13 per cent nationally. Bangladeshi pupils make up

the majority of the school population, comprising 56 per cent of the total school roll.

This diversity is reflected in the make up of students participating in the Year 10

mentoring scheme. Concentrating on improving students’ awareness of career

opportunities and developing their key employability skills, mentees are matched

with business mentors based in the City of London. The mentors provide an

invaluable perspective on employment in the City and on the opportunities

available post-16. This close contact with City-based employees is important, as a

significant percentage of the mentees come from homes where one or both

parents are unemployed. Over the last year, participating mentees report having

increased their knowledge of job opportunities (80 per cent significant/moderate

benefit), better understood what potential employers look for in new recruits (76 per

cent significant/moderate benefit); and increased their knowledge and awareness

of the academic qualifications necessary for desired careers (75 per cent

significant/moderate benefit). Key skills gained include working in small groups,

developing time management skills, and organising and prioritising their own work.

2.3.11 Higher Education (ages 18+)

Achievements in higher education are a concern, although they are crucially

dependent on achievement at school. Data has been gathered which shows that

ethnic minority students receive disproportionately fewer first class degrees, and

more lower class degrees and failures. Data also shows that there are low levels of

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enrolment for some groups in certain fields of study, such as the tiny proportion of

Black Caribbeans enrolled on scientific degree courses.

Overall the representation of minority ethnic students in higher education has

increased in recent years. In the UK the minority ethnic UK-domiciled higher

education student population has grown from 12.2% in 1996/7 to 13.4% in

2000/01. In England in 2001/2, minority ethnic students comprised an estimated

16%1 of all undergraduate students studying full and part time in higher education

institutions, the Open University and in Further Education colleges, whereas the

percentage of minority ethnic groups in the working age population in 2000 was 8.2

Further education and ‘soft skills’ learning continues throughout life. As people

move into further education and as they move through their career, ‘softer’ skills

such as personal confidence and job-seeking skills are developed. The

development of such skills can be supported by schemes such as Connexions,

which aims to provide integrated advice, guidance and personal development

opportunities for all 13 to 19 year olds in England and to help them make a smooth

transition from adolescence to working life. Further employment and earnings

benefits fall to those who enjoy the opportunities presented by participation in

higher education. The Government has consequently set a target of at least 50 per

cent of young people to participate in higher education by 2010.%

Figure 9 Participation of minority ethnic groups in Higher Education in England

Ethnic group Total estimated numberof undergraduate students

Percentage of total undergraduate students

Working age Population (2000)

White 1,030,385 84.00 91.80 All minority ethnic 196,083 16.00 8.20 Black Caribbean 18,821 1.50 1.10 Black African 30,971 2.50 1.00 Black other 9,874 0.60 0.50 Indian 50,406 4.10 2.10 Pakistani 26,631 2.20 1.20 Bangladeshi 8,081 0.70 0.50 Chinese 11,775 1.00 0.40 Asian Other 16,322 1.30 0.60 Mixed ethnic 8,848 0.70 - Other 16,354 1.30 0.90

Total with known ethnicity 1,226,468 -100 31,748,384

Source: HESA, 2001/02; ILR, 2001/02; Labour Force Survey, Dec-Feb 2000

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2.3.12 Summary of the Education Sector

Individuals from some ethnic minority groups, such as Pakistanis, Bangladeshis

and Black Caribbeans, disproportionately lack the education, skills and

qualifications that are essential for success in the labour market.

Schools need both the encouragement and the capacity to deliver a high-quality

education to pupils across all ethnic and socio-economic groups. Since the causes

of some groups’ under-performance are multiple, there is no single appropriate

solution. A carefully focused package of measures is needed. Ethnicity should be

factored into current educational targets if under-attaining groups consistently

continue to achieve below the White level. In addition, greater transparency should

be introduced in school attainment data where differential achievement between

groups is of serious concern. Funding and school inspection arrangements should

be used more effectively to improve the educational attainment of ethnic minority

groups. In particular, the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant should be reviewed to

ensure that resources are targeted at those schools and pupils who need them

most. Schools and teachers should be provided with more information and better

training on how successfully to teach a diverse intake of pupils and how to make

most effective use of Good Practice guidance.

Schools and Local Education Authorities (LEAs) should be better informed about

how to engage and motivate parents of low-attaining ethnic minority pupils. Parents

should also be told about opportunities for greater choice in selecting schools for

their children. Important data, research and evidence gaps should be filled to

enable LEAs, schools and local Learning and Skills Councils (LSCs) to improve the

skills levels of poorly-qualified ethnic minority communities.

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3 CONCLUSIONS FROM THE SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

Immigration into the UK has been a phenomenon since the 17th century but

remained very small scale, with little impact on the population as a whole or on the

culture of the country. Immigration increased greatly in the 1950’s and 1960 when

peoples from the UK’s former empire settled in the country mainly in response to a

shortage of labour. By the 1970’s this phase of immigration was reduced by

legislation. Since then the numbers of immigrants from these sources has slowed.

During the 1990’s people from other parts of the world increasingly sought asylum

in the UK, with the numbers peaking in 2003. The UK, as signatory to international

agreements on refugees and asylum seekers, had a legal obligation to accept

these immigrants. In addition, people from the expanding European Union came to

the country in search of work. Other groups, such as essential workers and

students, have added to the numbers.

The UK is not alone in having to manage immigration but it is one of many

European countries that have a large number of immigrants. It is thought that the

UK is a popular destination as it offers more accessible welfare support and fewer

internal controls once in the country.

The economic benefits of migration are often overlooked. Many migrants fill gaps in

the workforce that the indigenous population either cannot or will not fill, often in

poorly paid and unpopular jobs. The moderating effect on general wage inflation

may well be considerable and more research should be undertaken in this area.

The UK also has an aging population and a low birth rate therefore the migrant

population may make up for the declining numbers of economically active adults.

The increasing numbers of migrants may also have an effect on the supply of

housing and the provision of education and availability of education in areas where

immigrants tend to live.

The UK government took a number of legal steps in response to this situation,

some legal, some educational and institutional. In 1971 the first Immigration Act

was passed, restricting the rights of Commonwealth citizens to reside in the UK.

This was followed by a number of other Acts designed to manage the process of

immigration into the UK. UK legislation was also governed by international and

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European agreements on the treatment of refugees and human rights. In 2005 the

UK government introduced a citizenship test designed to test a would be citizen’s

knowledge of English and British life and institutions. Success at this test is a

requirement before citizenship can be granted.

New bodies were also created to promote and advocate a fair, just and integrated

society. Bodies like the Commission for Racial Equality were created by the

legislation. Private organisations and charities have also been active in this field

and a number of organisations now exist to offer support, advice and training for

immigrants and legal advisors. Many of these organisations also lobby

governments and promote and advocate changes in policy, and raise issues to

support migrants and their human rights. May of these organisations are active on

a European basis.

Private companies and organisations have emerged to support and enhance the

position of ethnic minority workers. Some organisations support ethnic business

men and women and others workers. Race for Opportunity and the Ethnic Minority

Forum are both involved in working on the race issue in the workplace and the

community. Particular emphasis is given on the promotion of small businesses

amongst the ethnic community and the role and power of the ethnic minorities as

consumers.

Many companies too have produced policies and procedures in response to

legislation and demand from their workforce and customers to promoted racial

equality in the workplace.

Many studies have been undertaken into why some ethnic minority groups achieve

educational levels that are different from others. There is a clear belief in the

education arena that ethnic minorities can be disadvantaged in educational

attainment. Many reasons are put forward for these disparities but no simple

solutions have been found. More detailed conclusions from these area are detailed

later in this document.

The print media in the UK is on the whole right of centre politically and views the

issue of immigration and asylum seekers in a negative light. Much of the reporting

and editorial is of a sensationalist nature with little regard to facts. The media often

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links young Black people to crime and drugs rather than more creating more

positive images. Broadcast media on the other hand has a duty to be more

balanced. Complaints against all sections of the media can be made to the Office

of Communications.

The Committee for Racial Equality sponsor an annual award to encourage good

relations and to combat discrimination in and by the media which helps redress the

balance and moderate opinion. Its goal is to change social attitudes towards ethnic

minorities.

The first observation that must be made about the position of ethnic minorities in

the private sector is that employment rates are lower amongst them than their

White counterparts. Within the ethnic minority population there are significant

differences in economic activity with the Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities

and the Black Caribbean community. Rates amongst men also tend to be higher

than women. Second generation families tend to do better as well. This split in the

figures suggests that more efforts need to be made to engage with the older,

female members of the migrant population. Amongst the managerial jobs, the

situation is somewhat different with members of the Indian ethnic community being

broadly on a par with their White counterparts but with the other groups lagging

somewhat behind. As might be expected, the figures for earnings also reflect the

gap between the White community and ethnic minorities. Within the earns gap

however there are some anomalies, including British born ethnic women and, to

some extent, Indian men.

Private business is increasing seeing a business case for having an ethnic diversity

policy. Ethnic minorities are generally not well represented in the higher

management of companies in particular amongst the countries larger companies.

More companies now have a diversity programme and these programmes are

increasingly being communicated throughout the organisations. Often these

policies include training packages that help educate all employees on the legal,

cultural and faith differences amongst the workforce. Some companies have

introduced bodies and forum where diversity issues can be raised and discussed.

Private businesses see these programmes as a way of attracting and retaining

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good quality staff from ethnic minorities and as a way of attracting customers and

shareholders from those groups as well.

Legislative changes introduced in 2000 put public bodies under legal obligations to

promote racial equality. From 2001 the UK census broadened the way in which

ethnic minorities are categorised thus allowing closer monitoring of the success, or

otherwise, of policy initiatives designed to address the imbalances ethnic minorities

experience in many walks of life. Measurement has increasing been see as one of

the most effective way of ensuring a more equitable balance.

The National Heath Service is very concerned that its services are available to all

sectors of society in particular older ethnic minority women, who the service

believes are particularly vulnerable especially those who speak poor or little

English. It is a large employer of ethnic minority staff and the Department of Health

have set targets for increasing the numbers of those staff. In particular, the focus of

this initiative is to increase the number of senior staff and in occupations where

they remain underrepresented.

Within the Social Services the governments commitment to equality has been

show by the Social Services White Paper Modernising Social Services and the

Quality Strategy for Social Care report which set the agenda for a more diverse,

inclusive and equal social service environment

The Governments Benefits Agency too has drawn up a set of guidelines for the

delivery of its service to clients within the ethnic minorities. Figures produced by

the Department for Work and Pensions show that more ethnic minorities claim

state benefits and suggest that this is because of the lower rates of economic

activity amongst those groups. Because of this, the work of the Benefits Agency to

deal fairly with minorities is seen to be more important. Since the late 1990’s

emphasis has been placed on reaching into the wider community, improving the

quality of information made available and on overcoming language difficulties.

The Police in the UK have often come under criticism for racial bias and since 1999

have introduced measures to counteract that criticism. To that end, the police

collect statistics and monitor their activities with regard to the policing of the ethnic

community more closely. Nevertheless, the perception, especially amongst young

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Black people, is that the police have a different attitude towards ethnic minorities.

Attempts have been made to recruit and retain more police officers from minority

groups across the UK as a whole. To this end the number of ethnic minority police

has grown but, as a percentage of the population as a whole, ethnic minorities

remain underrepresented. Attempts have also been made to recruit more office

support staff and more Special Constables from minority groups. Overall, targets

have not been met but increases have been seen therefore more work is required

in this area

The Armed Forces in the UK have entered into a five year Partnership Agreement

with the Commission for Racial Equality to set recruitment goals and to change

policy and procedures in an effort to recruit more of its personnel from ethnic

minorities. Training programmes aimed at recruitment and fostering cultural

diversity have been put in place in various parts of the services.

In the area of local government ethnic diversity policies are also in place to support

employees and the population that they represent. Many areas of the UK are

ethnically diverse and this is reflected to some extent in local authority

employment. In areas of greater ethnic diversity it falls to the local government to

work with the local community to maintain peaceful and harmonious relations. The

number of different languages and customs that appear in such communities have

to be catered for by its local government and its policies towards them.

The biggest issue facing the education sector is the underachievement of Black,

Pakistani and Bangladeshi pupils. This group constantly get lower exam results

than their White classmates. Black Caribbean girls are achieving better results but

their male counterparts are not. Chinese and Indian pupils however achieve higher

results than Whites, illustrating that the picture of education and ethnicity is

complex. Overall the trend has been upward for all groups. Second generation

ethnic minorities are doing better than their parents and the numbers going on to

higher education are increasing. One area that has shown to be an important factor

in educational success is language learning and more resources should perhaps

be applied. Language skills also translate into more and better job opportunities as

students enter the labour market and this is one way in which racial inequality can

be addressed.

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A number of initiatives, including the Pupil Level Annual School Census (PLASC),

and the creation of the National Pupil Database (NPD) have tried to shed light on

the phenomena of pupil under-attainment. The data that is collected is used at

local and national level to inform the strategy for successful diversity policy in

schools.

Government attention has been focus on the issue of education and its effect on

the workforce and social harmony. Additional money has been spent on education

for minority groups with the current Ethnic Minorities Achievement Grant (EMAG)

being the latest. Changes in the 1980’s changed government’s attitude from one of

coping with ethnic minorities to one of education aimed at all children and to

increasing attainment for all. One of the changes was to introduce data collection

and inspection of schools to take account of cultural diversity. Other initiatives have

been aimed at raising standards for all disadvantaged students not just those from

ethnic minority groups. Continuing underachievement has shifted the emphasis

towards policies designed at closing the gap in attainment especially in the area of

language learning.

School inspections through Ofsted now routinely inspect school’s results and

performance data with regard to ethnic minorities. Inspections focus on pupils

results at all stages in their education and take account of minorities. Inspectors

also take into account the presence of racism and harassment, fluency in English

and provision for the cultural development of pupils’ and teachers’ expectations.

Amongst the educational sector, teachers are the front line in establishing a good

harmonious relationship amongst all students in schools. Many newly qualified

teachers feel that they lack the necessary training to deal with ethnically diverse

schools. To this end, the Teacher Training Agency is working with other bodies,

including the Commission for Racial Equality, Ofsted and Independent teacher-

training experts to offer help and guidance and to measure the impact of this

training in the classroom. Many minority groups have difficulty with language and

this is an area that could benefit from more resources and training of staff to

overcome the difficulties students have with English. Many minority groups also

have low expectations of success. Amongst minority groups expectations and

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attainment levels vary, with Black Caribbean boys having particular problems and

this is an area where extra teacher training may be needed.

Greater recruitment of teachers from minority groups is also an aim and the Black

Leadership Initiative is working to increase levels across the country and especially

in areas where ethnic minorities are in greater numbers. The numbers of ethnic

minority teachers in higher education is still low although it is increasing and this is

an area that may benefit from more research into why this is so.

Parental involvement is as of crucial importance in linking schools with the wider

community. This includes schools disseminating information about the curriculum

and examinations. This it is believed will engage parents and assist school in

raising the attainment levels amongst ethnic minority pupils.

Within Primary education, studies have shown that, in particular, Black Caribbean

boys begin to do badly at school at Key stage 2, normally at the age of eleven.

After that performance is seen to tail off even more. Exclusions from schools at this

age of Black Caribbean boys is also higher than for other groups. However, studies

have shown that, for more successful schools with policies against racism, these

results tend to improve. A successful school was seen as one that made

awareness of minority issues a part of the mainstream teaching of the school and

not as an addition to the curriculum. It was also thought that educational support

must be coupled with other support in the community to work on social inclusion.

These factors and solutions continue at secondary school level. Amongst

Secondary schools attainment figures continue to show poorer achievement for

Black Caribbeans.

Achievement in Higher Education is generally based on achievement at lower

levels. Minority groups are generally less well represented within Higher Education

however, the number of ethnic minority students has increased in recent years.

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PART 2: CASE STUDIES

1 INTRODUCTION TO UK CASE STUDIES

1.1 Aims of the Case Studies

These case studies investigate some key issues raised and the results uncovered

by the national report. The case studies undertook the following tasks:

• the identification of issues facing migrant workers

• the examination of good practice in the organisation’s workplace

• highlighting recommendations for the future

1.2 Selection of Case Study Subjects

In order to accurately reflect the situation with regard to cultural diversity in the

workplace a selection was made from those public, educational and private sectors

that were known to have a significant number of ethnic minority workers and

customers. Most of the case studies took place in London and the surrounding

area. Anonymity is preserved where the responding organisation did not wish to be

mentioned by name.

The following table represents those organisations that took part.

Private A large retail organisation A major hospitality organisation Education Westminster University A Central London language school Public A General Hospital

1.3 Methodology

A common questionnaire was developed that was considered to be acceptable for

all case studies and that could be administered by the researchers or given to the

respondents to complete and return.

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For these case studies, a questionnaire was developed to discover the

respondents’ opinions of the company’s or organisation’s diversity policy and the

environment in which it operates. The questionnaire focussed on attitudes towards

a number of issues these being

• issues related to language competence

• the prevailing communication styles

• integration with people from other cultural backgrounds

• attitudes towards time-keeping and breaks

• attitudes towards the treatment of staff due to their religion

• attitudes towards the provision of suitable food during breaks

• attitudes towards the implementation of management hierarchies

• attitudes towards the treatment of staff due to their gender

The questionnaire was followed up by interviews with respondents where

qualitative data could be extracted. Some questions were designed to discover

examples of discrimination in the workplace and others were seeking to discover

what advantages or disadvantages cultural diversity brought to the workplace.

These responses were then used to identify the good practices currently operating

in the workplaces and to feed into the recommendations.

150 to 200 respondents were sought across the different target groups and within

the chosen organisations. In some cases respondents failed to complete the

questionnaire or were reluctant to. This resulted in about 150 complete replies.

After the questionnaire was completed some 30 individual respondents were

interviewed in order to get a more in-depth picture of their place of employment

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and the issues that were prevalent there. Respondents were also given the

opportunity to expand on some of their answers and given more details of their

Good Practice and any recommendations they felt were appropriate.

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2 CASE STUDY - RETAILING

2.1 Introduction

This report covers the findings of the case study of a private sector company. The

company selected for this case study is part of one of the UK’s largest retail

organisations. The company has four department stores in the country, one in

London, one in Birmingham and two further outlets in Manchester. It prides itself in

it position as one of the more cutting edge retailers in fashion and home products.

The store in London’s Oxford Street was chosen for the case study. The store may

be considered typical of a large retail organisation in London in that it will attract

migrant workers with language skills, which might be used in direct contact with

members of the public in the store. The store employs in excess of 600 members

of staff many on a part time basis. The store trades seven days a week and opens

for on average 10 hours a day. Staff are required to work an agreed shift pattern

which may include evening and weekend working. In line with UK legislation, the

company has a published diversity policy covering ethnicity, religion and gender.

2.2 Methodology

This case study used the standard questionnaire that was developed by the

research team at the beginning of the research process. The questionnaire was

distributed amongst those individuals who agreed to take part in the study and

completed in confidence.

Interviews were also carried out amongst some of the respondents to investigate

further and more deeply some of the findings from the questionnaire phase of the

research. Because of the nature of the changing shift pattern and flexible hours of

the employees it was considered that focus groups might not be possible to

sustain. It transpired that it would not be possible to assemble a significant group in

order to discuss these issues collectively.

A total of 24 individuals agreed to take part in the study and 5 were interviewed in

more depth. Of the respondents, one was the manager of a department in the store

who was ultimately responsible for the management of a total of 50 full and part

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time staff. Four respondents were supervisors who managed departments on a

day to day basis and the remaining 18 were shop floor sales staff. The results of

the questionnaires were entered into a spreadsheet which allowed further analysis

of the data.

London, being a highly multi-cultural city with a large and fairly young transient

population it was expected that the company’s staff would indicate that mix.

The company employs mainly younger workers and the sample reflected this. 75%

of the respondents were in the age range 18-30 with the remaining in the range 31-

40. The sample was split almost equally between men and women, which gave a

balanced view on issues relating to gender.

In terms of nationality, almost half of the respondents came from a range of

European countries, about a third from South America countries and the remaining

from Asia. Over half of the respondents reported that they were living temporarily in

the UK. As a prerequisite to obtaining the job all applicants had to demonstrate and

ability to communicate successfully with the customer base in English although no

formal language testing was carried out.

The religious mix of the respondents also reflects their countries of origin. In the

region of 40% of respondents were Christian, 50% professed to have no religion

and the remaining respondents were Muslim. This mix broadly reflects the

population at large.

Interviews were not recorded but notes from them were added to the

questionnaires. All data was collated by the research team and analysed critically

to produce the results reported here.

2.3 Issues and Challenges

2.3.1 Language and Communication

The company saw an absolute need that this group of employees, who

predominantly interacted with the general public, had a sufficiently high standard of

English as a pre-condition to their employment. In addition it was considered that

knowledge of another language may be an advantage as many of the company’s

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customers were not native English speakers. The twelve languages spoken by the

aggregated respondents were English, Norwegian, German, Spanish, Portuguese,

Finnish, Swedish, Italian, Hungarian, French, Russian, Greek.

The language of business was generally English and the language used by the

management was also English. Whilst the staff mostly used oral English there was

some requirement to write and read in the language.

Overall, 75% of respondents said that their level of English presented no problems

when dealing with other members of staff and approximately half of the

respondents reported that there colleagues’ level of English presented no

problems. Under 10% of respondents declared that theirs and others levels of

English provided a frequent problem. When interviewed on this subject

respondents expressed that view that they believed that some employees were

primarily in the country in order to improve their English language ability so some

misunderstanding were considered to be acceptable.

One respondent pointed out

'He’s here to improve and he’s studying at a school down the road. It only fair to be

a bit patient ‘cos he’s making an effort. Not everybody does when they come here'.

Amongst those respondents who reported some problems a typical view was

‘My English is much better since getting this job. Give me time and I’ll be OK’

2.3.2 Relationships with Co-Workers

The high number of migrants in London coupled with the relatively low level of skill,

education and experience required for general retail work results in a large number

of migrants taking up these types of positions. Levels of integration within the

workforce were high and few problems were reported. Rates of pay in the company

are clearly published and there was no perceived discrimination in terms of

remuneration.

All respondents reported that they spent time at work mixing with people of

different cultural backgrounds. These included colleagues, managers and

customers. In all cases this was done on a daily basis. Breaks were generally

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taken with members of other cultures and socialising with members of other

cultures was also predominant. Whilst the respondents were split between those

from a European, South American and Asian background they were united by age

and social attitudes. The store attracted a youthful and fashion conscious

customer base and staff and this had a greater effect on the prevailing cultural

attitudes amongst them than their country of origin or religious background.

All respondents reported that they socialised with people from other backgrounds

outside of work and 83% said that they took breaks at work with people from other

backgrounds.

Cultural diversity was embraced by the workforce in a number of ways. The

questionnaire sought to understand what, in the opinion of the respondents, were

the main advantages and disadvantages of a culturally diverse workforce.

Only 8% of the sample experienced any racism in the work place and this came

from interaction with the customers and not the management of other staff

members.

When asked about the disadvantages of a culturally diverse workplace that

following results were found.

What do you think are the disadvantages of a culturally/ ethnically diverse

workforce?

33% Communication within the organisation becomes more complicated

7% Social atmosphere at the workplace worsens

13% It increases conflict

0% It worsens customer relations

0% It creates language barriers

27% There are no disadvantages

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From these results it could be concluded that communication styles are the main

disadvantage but that language itself was not found to be a barrier. This may well

be due to the fact that in order to get the job in the first place, all employees must

demonstrate and good level of English.

A very small number of respondents reported some social tensions but when

asked about this during interview it appeared that these were more likely to be due

to personal issues and not directly related to the cultural background of the

individuals concerned.

2.3.3 Time Keeping

The survey sought to uncover attitudes towards cultural differences in the area of

time keeping.

Respondents were asked to comment on their understanding of what being ‘on

time’ meant and how they responded to schedules. Given that the company

worked on a fairly strict schedule of opening hours and shift patterns it considered

that time-keeping was of some significance. Employees who frequently mis-

managed their time were threatened with disciplinary action including, ultimately,

loss of employment. This regime lead to, generally, an acceptance of accurate

time-keeping amongst the group. Whilst taking time off for religious or family

reasons presented no problems for any respondents 30% of respondents felt that

the inability on the part of the company to be flexible when dealing with last minute

changes of plan was a slight problem. Just over 20% of respondents did report a

serious problem in the area of time-management and being at work on time. Two

examples of a response to the question of time-keeping recorded from shop floor

employees were

‘It’s just so hard to get here on time with the traffic and everything’

and

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‘I can’t see what the problem is. There’s always someone on the shop floor and

if I’m late it’s not the end of the world. They ( the management ) are a bit to

strict at times I think’

These views were expressed by shop floor workers however management policy

on this area remained relatively inflexible. The more senior manager who agreed to

take part in the study reported that:-

‘We have a busy store to run and we can’t make exceptions when it comes to

time keeping. We work as a team so if you are late the team suffers’

2.3.4 Hierarchies

The workforce generally accepted the working relationships as they existed

between management and staff. Teamwork was seen as essential and working as

a team presented no problems for over 80% of the team members. The one area

where an issue was noted was in attitudes towards deference and respect for

authority. 30% of the sample thought that some staff were expected to display too

much respect for authority reporting that this was a serious problem. A typical view

expressed was:-

‘Why treat them (the management ) so specially, we don’t do that back at home’

and

‘Some managers, especially the older ones think they should get shown more respect’

In other areas such as the ability to work independently and in giving and receiving

orders, whilst these situations occurred they presented no particular problem for

the respondents.

2.3.5 Gender

Respondents were asked about their attitudes towards working with members of

the opposite sex. Whilst it was common for there to be a mix of genders in both

management and staff roles no problems were reported in this area. Over 80% of

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men were happy to give and receive orders from either men or women and women

responded in the same way.

2.4 Good Practice

2.4.1 Language and Communication

Good Practice appeared to come from the staff themselves. Colleagues were

generally understanding of language weakness in both work and social situations.

As English was a second language to all those interviewed the prevailing notion

was one of a shared opportunity to develop language skills. In this respect the

English language was a unifying factor rather than one that might cause friction or

disharmony.

Management offered some sympathy for poorer speakers but generally did not

employing those with insufficient language skills. Because of this, management

were able to instruct staff on all aspects of their work without any significant

difficult.

No formal training was made available to these staff due mainly to the fact that

they were seen as on the whole temporarily employed by the company and

therefore not eligible for training outside their specific job function.

2.4.2 Relationships with Co-Workers

Overall the respondents considered cultural diversity as a benefit to the company

and showed no hesitation to develop professional and social relationships with

other cultural groups. respondents were asked the question ‘In your experience,

what are the benefits of a culturally/ ethnically diverse workforce?’ and replied:-

50% It improves the communication within the organisation. 75% It improves the social atmosphere. 83% It improves customer relations. 50% It increases the organisation's overall competence. 67% It improves the image of the company. 33% It makes the company more competitive 67% It increases creativity among the staff. 75% It increases the company's adaptability to new challenges. 8% There are no benefits.

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As such this group may be considered as a role model for other multi-cultural

working groups in other situations. However, the success of this group of workers

may well reflect the nature of the employees in that they are predominantly young,

have English language skills and are temporary visitors to the UK

2.4.3 Time Keeping

In terms of time-keeping the staff generally accepted that demands of their job

were such that strict time-keeping was a requirement and that all staff were treated

with the same degree of inflexibility by the management. It was generally felt that

this was not an area where migrant employees were treated in any way differently

from local staff. Only a minority of those staff survey had special dietary

requirements and these were adequately catered for buy the company.

2.4.4 Hierarchies

This retailer has developed a culture where hierarchies are generally flatter. The

company presents a youthful and fashionable image and attracts employees who

fit comfortably with that image. This in turn leads to fewer issues in this area.

2.4.5 Gender

The company demonstrated no bias towards genders at least at the level of the

shop floor where the survey was conducted. In this respect the company could be

seen as a role model for harmonious mixed gender working.

2.5 Recommendations

2.5.1 Language and Communication

Language can be seen in this environment as an advantage for the company

rather than as a disadvantage. With the staff coming from a wide ethnic, national

and linguistic background there would be a great chance that a member of staff

could be found to help a customer who shared a first language with a staff member

and who found it difficult to communicate their requirements in English.

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2.5.2 Relationships with Co-Workers

The company’s employees and management believed that an integrated workforce

was a positive benefit to the business and did not present problems. The

management of the store sees the business as an international brand leader

selling expensive fashion items that are in themselves international. The customer

base is also international although the company would not divulge any figure as to

the country of origin of its customers. Because of the varied backgrounds of the

products and customers the company seeks to recruit staff to match. As such this

could be seen as a positive role model for other organisations.

2.5.3 Time Keeping

Retailing has a distinct corporate culture of its own in the UK. Large retail

companies generally treat their staff quite strictly and discipline can be fairly strict.

This is considered to be a fact of life and part of the job and not something to be

changed by the employee. Generally this is not an issue related to migrant workers

but something that all retail employees are subjected to. Some awareness raising

training might be useful for the shop floor staff to highlight the importance of time-

keeping and the reasons why management are fairly strict in this area.

2.5.4 Hierarchies

The recruitment policy of the company pre-selects individuals who accept the

company’s attitude to hierarchy however some further training may be required to

ensure that all employees and management buy into this approach as a sizable

proportion have encountered problems in this area.

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3 CASE STUDY - HOSPITALITY

3.1 Introduction/Background

This case study was carried out on the premises of a café in central London. The

café is part of a large chain of cafes situated throughout the South East of England

and currently has 35 branches. In total the company employs around 300 workers,

many of them on a part-time or temporary basis. The questionnaire was distributed

to the staff of a busy branch just off Oxford Circus. and can be said to typical of this

type of food outlet in central London. It employs 30 people, both full time and part

time. The café is open from 8am until 7pm, but is closed at weekends as it

operates in a business district. As is typical in such businesses, possibly due to its

central location and its fairly low wage rates, its employees are recruited mostly

from young adults often on short term contracts.

The first results from the questionnaire bear out the initial presumed findings. The

majority of the café employees fall into the 18-30 age group, 44%, with the next

major group from those surveyed was the 31-40 age group, 33%.

Interestingly the majority of the workers were male, yet one would expect catering

to have a female preponderance. This can perhaps be explained by the fact that

the café surveyed is in central London where the scope for traditional male areas

of employment is far lower than in other parts of the city and the UK as a whole.

Further interest is gleaned from the survey in that the majority of the respondents

were British-born, 61%, contrary to the commonly held belief and anecdotal

evidence in London that British-born people tend not to work in such environments.

However, the other questions in this section throw more light on the issue.

Furthermore, the majority of respondents were permanently resident in the UK,

67% and an additional 22% were temporary residents, but for more than five years.

Finally, of those who answered the question on religion, the largest faith group was

the Muslim faith, 44%. This links in with other answers such as the few

respondents having English as their mother tongue, as they are likely to come from

ethnic minority groups, but second generation. The next most populous group was

Christian - Roman Catholic, 22%. It is presumed that this figure includes non-

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British born respondents, as the Catholic population of England and Wales is only

5% of the population.

3.2 Methodology

For this case study a questionnaire was implemented in order to ascertain the

working conditions and attitudes of the employees and the diversity policy of the

employer, as understood by the workforce. The questionnaire was the main source

of information but this was supported by interviews to expand on some of the

responses and to add more detail when making recommendations.

The questionnaire used was the same for the other case studies.

It was expected that the café would have a wide variety of nationalities as catering

in London is a major employer of young migrant workers (40% of London’s

population is from an ethnic minority or non-British background) from not only the

EU including recent Eastern European entrants, but also from all over the world

and importantly, , local British workers too, such as students and peripatetic recent

graduates.

3.3 Issues

3.3.1 Language

The survey found that Only 39% of the respondents have English as their mother

tongue. Language fluency may then be the reason why they are working in a

catering establishment in central London, their language skills may not be sufficient

to gain what is understood to be ‘a good job’. However, again the picture is more

complicated than first meets the eye. 67% of respondents indicated that they hold

a university degree. This raises two issues. Firstly, if it is presumed that their

fluency in English is not that good, what can be concluded about the standard of

British higher education. Due to the statistical evidence some of the respondents

who indicated that English was not their mother tongue also must have gone to

university and are therefore not migrant workers. Secondly, why are so many

university graduates, holding a degree is supposed to confer white-collar status on

the holder, working in a blue-collar environment?

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The answer may be found in the levels of unemployment amongst graduates in

general and in London in particular. One graduate interviewee responded:

“I need the money and I’m looking for a professional job. It’s fun to work here

but I won’t be here much longer’

Most respondents claimed that their ability in English was not a problem at work,

although a sizable number ( 25% ) did state that it was a significant problem.

Opinion about the English ability of their colleagues was spread across the

spectrum of options. Those that found language to be a problem mentioned it in

relation to busy times at work and this area is looked at in more detail in the

following section.

3.3.2 Attitudes at Work

Attitudes at Work afforded the respondents the opportunity to comment on their

views and opinions about work with relation to an ethnically, culturally and

linguistically diverse workplace. When asked about the benefits of an ethnically,

culturally and linguistically diverse workplace, the respondents answered fairly

evenly that it, improves communication within the organisation, it improves the

social atmosphere, improves customer relations, improves the organisation’s

overall competence, increases creativity among the staff and increases the

company’s adaptability to new challenges.

Interestingly, only 3% stated that it didn’t improve the company’s image. No one

answered that there were no benefits.

As for disadvantages of an ethnically and culturally diverse workplace, a slight

majority of respondents ( 53% ) replied that language barriers were the main

problem. The café operated at a very fast pace and with a high level of

background noise. Staff reported that one of their most pressing problems was an

inability to fully understand some of the customer’s orders and some of the

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supervisor’s instructions at busy times. These two factors sometimes led to

tensions in the workplace. One interviewee summarised this problem as:

‘My English is good but its hard to hear what people say sometimes and they (

the customers ) can be a bit rude and impatient sometimes.”

A small number of respondents thought that communication within the organisation

was somewhat impeded by the communication style brought about by the noise

and fast pace of work at busy times. One respondent reported that:-

‘They ( the supervisors ) just shout at me to hurry up when a customer is

waiting to be served and I have to ask them to repeat their order. Why can’t

they be more polite?”

Another staff member related that:-

‘When you work in the morning or afternoons its quieter and there are no

problems. It lunchtime when things get bad and the pressure mounts’

Despite this issue, a substantial group ( 35% ) answered that there were no

disadvantages. These findings are not surprising. An ethnically diverse

environment will, given the findings above and the blue-collar nature of the job,

raise communication issues. It is also not surprising that an ethnically and culturally

diverse group responded that there were no disadvantages.

With regard to an ethnic diversity policy, 75% of respondents were unaware of the

existence of such a document. This is again perhaps not a surprise in such a small

independent catering establishment.

A very positive finding from the questionnaire is that 75% of respondents stated

that they had not experienced any kind of discrimination or racism at work, the

remaining 25% stated that it was difficult to say. One of the managers, himself

from Asia, was asked about the lack of perceived racism in the workplace and he

replied that as the great majority of the staff were from another country and were

young and that he and they believed racism was:-

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‘for the white people only, we just get on with our lives.’

3.3.3 Communication Style

It is noteworthy that conceptions of politeness are similar across the sample group

with regard to formality, for example, terms of address, understanding of what

constitutes polite or rude behaviour and ways of expressing anger. However, as

has been pointed out in the previous section, levels of politeness and formality

tended to change as the pace of work increased. There is an accepted standard in

the catering industry in the UK that speed and serving the customer quickly can

take precedence over polite behaviour. Whilst this is accepted amongst the

indigenous population with experience in the industry, new employees from other

cultural backgrounds may find this comes as a surprise. Some training in the way

that the catering industry is organised in the UK, where typical British politeness is

abandoned, might help in this regard.

3.3.4 The Provision of Food

Where issues of food and religion were combined there was also some discord as

to how dietary requirements are met by he employer for employees. For example,

there was no provision for the availability of kosher or halal meat on offer. The staff

was permitted to eat some of the café’s products and take some home after close

of business but again no provision was made for special dietary requirements. The

management took the view that it was the customer who took priority over the staff

in this respect. One manager reported that:-

“It’s clear what sort of a business we have here. We don’t cater for Jewish of Muslim tastes for our customers but we do have vegetarian options. The staff have to serve what the customers want and they know that.’

3.3.5 The Acceptance of Religions

The questions centred on religion alone proved to have the most contentious

answers. The majority of respondents thought that there was a problem in the in

the way that colleagues had respect for the observance of others’ religious

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practices. No time was set aside during the working day for prayer except for

breaks. Staff did where possible organise their breaks amongst themselves to

cater for the few individuals who needed time for their religious devotions. In the

words of one interviewee:-

“My religion is important to me and I try to practice it without upsetting anyone.

I would like to have it recognised more by the management. I think that would

be more honest of them.”

The opposite view was also presented with one respondent arguing that:-

“We are at work not in the church. This is no place to start praying”

It would appear from these responses that, whilst for some religions, practices are

contained within certain places ( for example the church for those who gave their

religion as Catholic ) and for others where religious practices are dependent on

time of day and not place ( for example Islam )

3.3.6 Relationships with Co-Workers

Employees’ understanding of working relationships is also for the greater part

harmonious. Team working and giving and taking orders do not present challenges

in the café although some misunderstanding do occur when the staff are under

pressure. There is considerable difference in opinion, spread evenly across the

scale, on concepts of too much or too little respect for the hierarchy and attitudes

towards personal space and age.

The vast majority of those surveyed in the café thought that their intercultural

training needs were adequately met by their employer. However, given some of the

answers outlined above, it would appear that there is a need for some future

development.

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3.4 Good Practice

3.4.1 Language and Communication

In the central London café, despite different levels of spoken English, language

and oral communication is not seen as an issue and indeed the understanding of

the employees could be said to exemplify a multicultural working environment. The

only exception to this was during busy periods where the general speed of work

and level of noise made listening difficult for some employees. This spills over into

the positive attitudes expressed by respondents about the intercultural workplace.

Indeed, although it has been stated that language barriers can be encountered in

such an environment, it would seem that this sentiment is only expressed in

response to being asked to identify a negative aspect to an intercultural workplace,

because the majority of the answers throughout the questionnaire do not support

this statement.

3.4.2 Time Keeping

There was also a substantial degree of harmony in approaches to time keeping, of

note in a culturally diverse environment. The respondents did not consider

timekeeping or issues of lateness or allowances for religious holidays and practices

to be an issue in the café. The management accepted that some employees

needed to to take time off and, given enough notice, were happy to reorganise

shifts to accommodate workers in this way. This approach fitted into the existing

time and shift scheduling systems operated by the management and were not part

of the diversity policy as such.

3.4.3 Racism

The survey discovered that the overwhelming majority of employees found that

there was no racism at work. The company, in line with most medium to large

British companies has an equal opportunities policy in place even if the employees

reported that they were largely unaware of it. This policy sets out to ensure that no

employee should be discriminated against on the grounds of gender, race, sexual

orientation or disability. Management are trained in this area and are responsible

for the policy’s implementation.

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3.5 Recommendations

3.5.1 Religion

Given the respondents answers to how religious practices are respected by their

colleagues, employees are unaware of each other’s religious needs and

requirements. Despite the absence of religion as a major issue or concern in the

UK population as a whole, when religion is a part of ethnic and culture background

and differences it is vital to address this need, in particular in the intercultural

workplace where these influences meet. To this end it is recommended that staff

should be allowed to organise breaks in order that they may pray at appropriate

times. This will also include the need for some religious groups to carry out their

required hygiene rituals where possible. Although this is currently done on an

unofficial basis amongst the staff themselves it is thought that this practise should

be made part of the company’s diversity policy. Where to combined issues of food

and religion are concerned it is recognised that the business needs and the

requirements of the customers dictate what foods are handled and sold and that

acceptance of the job includes acceptance of these facts.

It is also recommended that some diversity training is given to the workforce to

draw out the different ways that reglious practices can be performed including

times and places that they occur. This will greatly increase the mutual

understanding of the different religious groups and reduce any intolerance that

religion might induce.

3.5.2 Working Relationships

The different cultural concepts regarding hierarchy and formality at work need to be

addressed. These may not be considered to be questions relating to or an indicator

of cultural background, rather a question of organisational structure and aims

(hierarchy and age), but in cultures and societies around the globe these are all

key cultural themes. Thus respondents to this questionnaire highlight their need in

this area. In particular the way staff are treated and spoken to during busy periods

in the workplace need to be explained to staff new to the British catering workplace

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where standards of politeness differ from those in everyday British life. There is a

clear need for training in this area to explain that lower levels of politeness are part

of the culture of the industry and in response to a particular individual.

3.5.3 Diversity Policy

Whilst the company has a formal diversity policy in place, it appears that amongst

this group of employees at least, the policy has largely not been disseminated. It is

thought that either formal training sessions or the publication of leaflets, posters or

booklets to inform staff might be useful. It is noted however that discrimination and

racism were not an issue despite the lack of knowledge of policies in this area.

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4 CASE STUDY – THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER

4.1 Introduction / Background

This case study was undertaken at the University of Westminster (University), in

central London. It focused on members of staff with teaching and/or administrative

duties. The personnel is a cross-section of London’s multi-cultural population. This

is tacitly recognised as the norm, especially since over 50 per cent of the total

student population is from ethnic minority backgrounds (including white European).

Indeed, 40% of London’s population is from ethnic backgrounds (including Irish

and white European). Because of this diverse mix of backgrounds the university

has in place policies that seek to eliminate unlawful discrimination, promote

equality of opportunity and promote good race relations between people of different

ethnic backgrounds. These policies apply to both staff and students.

The university has a tradition of implementing the UK’s anti-discrimination

legislation; personnel are informed at all levels to be aware they are ensuring:

‘fairness and equality of treatment for people in relation to their work, in terms of

recruitment and employment conditions’.

However, it is a fact that most are unaware of the broad lines, let alone the details,

of that legislation. Only 20%, according to our survey, knew there was a 'written

ethnic diversity policy in place'. But it is reasonable to state that, at least in London,

there exists an awareness amongst the population that they have rights pertaining

to their religious, ethnic, or cultural particularity. This also applies to their sexual

orientation and physical disabilities. Therefore, most members of staff are probably

unaware of the contents of the university’s ‘diversity mission and charter’, but they

know if and when any basic rights are being violated. Members of staff who

recently emigrated from third countries may be from a background that, compared

to London, may be less exposed to multi-culturalism and seemingly intolerant

towards ‘the other’. Those who comply to such a profile within the university seem,

to a large extent, automatically protected by the prevailing ethos.

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Respondents were drawn from a wide cross-section of the staff as was possible.

The average age was 31-50 and gender balance between male and female, 60 to

40. That is representative for an academic institution. The greatest surprise (for the

interviewer) was that 75 per cent were born outside the UK. On reflection, the

surprise was mostly due to the fact that a strong criterion for identifying ‘otherness’

is a person's linguistic level and the ability to communicate without hesitation and,

of course, accent. Since this is a university, communication is, overall, fluent (this

does not mean that it is also regularly pertinent). Regarding 'accent', it is not

unusual for native Londoners to retain traces of their 'ethnic' or family accent. 90

percent considered the UK to be their permanent home. Christianity was the

dominant religion with half the interviewees, and 35 per cent Protestant. Only 10

percent declare Muslim; this is contrast to the high percentage of students of

Muslim background but no conclusions can be drawn. Hardly surprising was the

fact that 65 percent had various university degrees.

4.2 Methodology

The information was gathered through questionnaires for all 20 people selected.

Staff were drawn equally from the academic staff and from support and

administrative staff. Everyone who agreed to complete the questionnaire was

given the opportunity to be interviewed to discuss some of the issues raised and to

elaborate on their responses where required. They were encouraged to express

any personal observations that were not covered by the questionnaire. The

questionnaire consisted of specific questions accompanied by multiple choice

boxes. Some questions simply offered a blank space where the interviewee could

articulate his/her own response. In this way qualitative as well as quantitative data

was collected.

The questionnaire was divided into three sections

1/ Personal profile; 2/ Interaction with diversity; 3/ Attitudes at work.

Amongst those interviewed from the academic staff were an EFL teacher (male,

white, English) and an Arabic lecturer (female, Muslim from Jordan). Other

respondents taken from support and administrative staff also provided qualitative

data used when drawing up recommendations and illustrating good practice.

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The problems encountered when approaching interviewers could be seen as

London-based. It seemed blatantly obvious to them that they live in a multi-cultural

city. They can see it in the racial characteristics of people’s faces, the colour of

their skin, the variety of languages. Inevitably, perhaps, they are not surprised that

behaviours should reflect equal variety.

4.3 Issues

4.3.1 Relationships with Co-Workers

Nearly all interviewees confirmed that, at work, they mixed with a large variety of

nationalities different to their own. Considering the environment, it would have

been difficult to answer otherwise. Any dissatisfaction at that level would have

surely compelled a person to change not only their place of work, but also their

city. Those who were more specific in their answers provided such a variety of

ethnicities they encountered that it often encompassed the greatest diversities. For

instance, 'British, Danish, Chinese, Nigerian, India'.

For 90 percent, this interaction took place on a daily basis and 5 percent stated

they worked part time. Three people (two white, female English, one white, male

Czech, and one white, male Italian) thought it did not concern them. They judged

that it was ‘about ethnicity’ and about how people work in a multi-ethnic

environment’. In this respect, they thought it had nothing to do with them since

there was no reason, or no time for them to interact with anyone other than those

associated with their immediate environment.

If they happened to be interacting with ‘other ethnicities', then the normal

professional standards applied. When asked how they would define ‘normal

professional standards’, they concurred on, ‘civility and judging a person by their

work'. It was suggested to them that the work place, as a social space, is open to

misunderstanding. Therefore, did they not think that some of those

misunderstandings could originate in different cultural behaviour and expectation?

None thought this was the case and none was prepared to describe altercations

with other colleagues. Pressed as to why not, the consensus was that they were

minor events that left no obvious discomfort or antagonism. It appears from these

responses that amongst some staff there is a lack of explicit cross-cultural

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awareness and that this, whilst not effecting those staff, might well have an effect

on staff whose culture and ethnicity is ignored.

4.3.2 Language and Communication

Of those who took part in the survey, 80% had English as a second language and

70% had arrived for work in the country within the last 5 years and considered that

their work was of a temporary nature. 31% stated that language was a problem at

work and slightly smaller number ( 24% ) stated that language made

communications at work ‘more complicated’. One example of this was in the

security department where a Black Caribbean supervisor, born in the UK, felt that

his African subordinates did not fully understand some of his instructions: -

‘They just smile and nod and say yes but I know they don’t really understand

me. I always have to tell them twice and check they understand’

This may be a reflection on the perceived job insecurity of the subordinate but

more probably is a cultural response to hierarchy. This view is further born out by

the fact that few of the non-native security staff felt or at least admitted that

language was a problem.

Language and communication was considered to be less of an issue amongst the

academic staff. Whilst non-native speakers of English were common amongst

both staff and students this was accepted as part of the current trend for an

increasing number of overseas students and the growing reliance on them by the

university. The teaching staff is therefore more tolerant of language problems and,

whilst they may exist, are not identified as issues. As one teacher remarked:-

“I am accustomed to dealing with other people’s English and it doesn’t effect my

work or attitudes towards them.”

4.3.3 Racial Discrimination

Of those who took part in the survey, 20 percent said 'yes' they had experienced

discrimination and 25 percent that it was 'difficult to say'. The university has a clear

policy regarding discrimination and there are laws governing racial discrimination

that are enforceable by the Commission for Racial Equality. Before that would

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happen the university’s own disciplinary policies would come into force. Of those

reporting incidents of racial discrimination, one person saw it as unintentional,

another indicated it took place out of work. One person stated it came from a

manager One respondent reported that he was referred to as ‘the black guy’ rather

than as the head of security. Another remarked that he had experienced white

staff using a phrase like ‘your people’, which he took to mean people from his racial

background. Another interviewee felt that often he was ignored by white visitors to

the university who preferred to deal with white staff. Whilst the interviewee

believed this to be an example of racist behaviour it might have been as a result of

language difficulties between him and the visitors. On the whole racial

discrimination came more from managers rather than co-workers. 18% of

respondents claimed that they experienced some racism from British managers

and 24% claimed that it came from foreign managers. The corresponding figures

from co-workers were much less at 4% and 12% respectively. The survey

therefore suggested that racism was weaker amongst British staff than overseas

staff, which may indicate where the focus of training in this area could be.

4.4 Good Practise

4.4.1 Diversity Charter

Recently, the government has asked from Higher Education establishments to

produce a diversity charter. The University was one of the first to do so, in 2006.

Diversity and Equality are defined as such:

• Equality of opportunity is about ensuring everyone, whoever they are, has a

fair chance of getting to the table.

• Diversity is about valuing the contribution everyone makes, whoever they

are, once they get there.

Government efforts to encourage a multi-ethnic educational workforce have been

detailed in the Situation Analysis section of this document and the University of

Westminster plays an active part in these initiatives. The University of Westminster

is committed to supporting diversity and equal opportunities in its dealings with

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applicants, students, staff and the public. It is fully committed to creating a

stimulating and supportive learning and working

environment based on mutual respect and trust to assist staff and students to

reach their full potential, regardless of race, nationality, ethnic or national origins,

marital status, disability, gender, religion or belief, sexual orientation or any other

similarly irrelevant factor. It respects and values diversity within the community of

staff and students and promotes equality of opportunity and challenge and strive

to eliminate unlawful discrimination. The University acknowledges the special role

of higher education in promoting equality of opportunity and furthering social

inclusion. It recognises that ensuring equality of opportunity is essential for high-

quality, high performance and the long-term success of the University. All staff and

students have rights and

responsibilities in relation to the promotion of equality of opportunity, as

acknowledged by the University’s Equal Opportunities Policy.

4.4.2 Diversity Workbook

The university published a Diversity Workbook in Summer 2006. It was sent to all

members of staff and is available on line. It includes a legal overview a great deal

of awareness raising exercises and activities and a wide range of facts and figures

designed to increase the reader’s knowledge of diversity. The booklet also

contains manycase studies and examples of people and organisations active in

this area. The booklet was primarily designed as part of the university’s Staff

Development strategy but could have wider uses in staff development in other

industries.

4.4.3 Relationships with Co-Workers.

When asked about the benefits of working in an ethnically mixed environment the

majority of the interviewees provided a written answer and a common theme

emerged from their answers. They felt that it was a lively experience that added

interest to one's life and was beneficial. Benefits included seeing different ways of

doing thinks or of interpreting situation.

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One interviewee was aware that it imposed on people the need to be careful with

the vocabulary used since different cultures can interpret in quite different ways the

same phrase or event. Another saw it as a way to improve their English.

Another interviewee (Spanish) thought that the benefits were specific to the English

culture because it is, 'practical, approachable and it is easy to fulfil your dreams'.

However, the identification of the English attitude was the exception rather since

most of the others seemed to identify the multi-cultural environment as the provider

of opportunities.

4.4.4 Religion

Practicing Muslim students have their own premises for prayer and provision for

ablutions is being studied. All university members are entitled to defer any

obligations (sitting exams, teaching duties) if they coincide with a recognised

religious holiday particular to their denomination.

The University has a canteen which sells hot food but only at lunchtime (1200 -

1400). There is also an all-day coffee bar (0800 - 1930) which serves cold food

only. During Ramadan, the coffee bar additionally sells hot food at sunset,

specifically to cater for fasting Muslim students.

4.5 Recommendations

4.5.1 Diversity Policy

As was outlined in the good practice section, the university has taken many steps

to draw up and disseminate its diversity policy in both its handbook and on its

website. Despite this, some respondents were unclear as to what the university’s

policy was. According to this research only 20% of respondents realised that such

formal policies existed. It is recommended therefore that further active

dissemination processes take place to point out the university’s stand on the issues

of ethnic diversity rather than the more passive actions now taken of having a

booklet and putting information on the website.

.

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4.5.2 Language and Communications

More training could be provided by the university in the area of language for

support and administrative staff whose first language is not English. The university

has a large EFL department which could assist in this area although this

department currently addresses student needs which tend to be different from staff

needs. With the government cutting back on the provision of language training for

migrant workers the university could be in a position to fill a gap in English

language provision to the benefit of its staff. Training might also be useful in the

cross-cultural communication field where misunderstandings are the result of

culture rather than language. One of the issues identified was a reluctance of

some staff to admit to a language problem due to deference to authority. If staff

had a better understanding of British cultural attitudes in this area

misunderstandings might be avoided.

4.5.3 Racism

The survey identified a perception amongst some respondents of racism which

was more marked amongst overseas managers and staff than amongst their

British counterparts. The UK has anti-discrimination policies, which have been

described in the Situation Analysis, and discrimination on the basis of race is

illegal. Such anti-discrimination laws may not be in existence in the countries that

some staff originate in and those staff may not be aware of the prevailing attitudes

against racism in the UK. To address this issue it is suggested that attention is

drawn to both the university’s well-documented anti-discrimination policies and

those of the government. A training program could also be devised to draw

attention to the way racism can be inadvertently expressed using, for example,

expression like ‘your people’ and ‘the black guy’ which may be interpreted as racist

even if they were not explicitly meant to be.

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5 CASE STUDY – A LANGUAGE SCHOOL IN CENTRAL LONDON

5.1 Introduction/Background

This case study was carried out in a language school in central London. The

school is part of an educational trust whose main customer base is foreign and

whose staff reflects the international origin of its clients. It is primarily concerned

with adult education and is over fifty years old. The organisation has a number of

international branches. The survey however is based on its head office in the UK.

This is a young staff with the majority of teaching and administrative staff under 40.

The majority of respondents were female, although the staff gender ratio is

probably more equal.

As befits a school with an international focus, the staff, both teaching and

administrative is multinational, with a predominance of British nationals on the

teaching staff.

5.2 Methodology

For this case study a questionnaire was distributed amongst the staff in order to

ascertain the attitudes of the employees. Respondents were also interviewed after

completing the questionnaires so that they could add details to some of their

answers and the researchers could follow up on some points raised.. Some

respondents also added comments on some of the questions which gave added

depth to the investigation.

The questionnaire contained 29 questions. The questionnaires aimed to elicit basic

quantitative answers as well as qualitative answers.

The questionnaire was divided into four sections, personal profile, interaction with

diversity, attitudes at work and issues arising from diversity. The school was an

interesting choice of case study as it employs a wide variety of nationalities and

teaches an even wider variety of nationalities including students from the Far East,

Middle East and Europe.

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5.3 Issues

5.3.1 Language and Communication

English is the dominant mother tongue and the official language of the organisation

however many other languages were spoken by the staff. These included French,

Italian, German, Japanese, Swedish, Spanish and Serbo-Croat. Communication

with the customers, who are language students, tends to be predominantly in

English as they attend the school to learn English. The survey discovered that

when asked what were the disadvantages of a diverse workplace 38% of

respondents thought that language made communications with the organisation

more difficult. However this should be balanced by the large number ( 46% ) who

reported that there were no disadvantages. As this is a language school whose

principle job is overcoming language and communication problems this issue is

one that is managed successfully with the school.

5.3.2 Relationships with Co-workers

Staff and students of all nationalities mixed with each other on a daily basis. The

interaction between staff and students was both professional and social as the

school operated a social programme for the students in which the staff participated.

Mixing also took place during breaks throughout the school day. An overwhelming

majority of staff took breaks with members of different language backgrounds. A

similarly large majority socialised outside of the work environment. Mixing in this

way presented no issues for most of those questioned although a small minority

voiced a different view.

Staff were also questioned on the negative impact of cultural diversity. They were

asked the question ‘What do you think are the disadvantages of a

culturally/ ethnically diverse workforce? and asked to comment on 6 key areas.

The results were as follows:-

38% Communication within the organisation becomes more complicated.15% Social atmosphere at the workplace worsens. 8% It increases conflict. 0% It worsens customer relations. 23% Language barriers. 46% There are no disadvantages.

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The majority of respondents saw no challenges. Of the possible challenges, a few

respondents reported language problems and a small minority reported

organisational and cultural conflict differences. When asked at the interview stage

to add comments on some of the negative impacts of working in a culturally diverse

environment the staff responded with very few major issues. Amongst the positive

comments were:-

‘I honestly can’t think of anything. There are no negative influences.’ ‘No major problems but possible misunderstandings due to cultural differences’

and

‘There’s some potential for misunderstanding through language and cultural expectations’ ‘Communication with people whose English is poor makes getting messages through quite hard.’ ‘Sometimes Asian men show preference to talking to men than women and show some discrimination.’

A small minority stated that:-

‘There’s a lack of desire by English employees to mix with and share ideas with foreign employees.’

and

‘It seems like some English employees don’t think they can learn from foreign employees.’

But it was notable that that, for the large majority this was not seen to be the case.

Nevertheless this attitude displayed by the native staff, of distancing themselves

from foreign employees, remains an issue for the organisation.

5.3.3 Discrimination at work

Staff were asked about their experiences of discrimination at work. Although the

majority thought that there was no discrimination a sizable minority believed that

there was a built in bias towards the English staff members and some

discrimination against non-English white people.

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Those staff who perceived discrimination said that this came from both UK bases

staff and managers, foreign managers and from foreign clients.

A range of comments were made in support of this general feeling of

discrimination. The main problem seems to be from English employees looking

down on foreign employees, not talking to them and not saying hello.

There were also some issues regarding foreign clients towards female members

of staff. A small minority picked up on attitudes on the part of customers who

seemed to prefer to deal with males rather than females and who may have been

less polite with female or with foreign employees. This seems to reflect overseas

customer cultures or perhaps personal attitudes.

In no case were these considered to lead to serious breakdowns in

communication, but it was felt that some foreign clients preferred to be taught by

male teachers and that some female teachers noted some disrespect towards

them. One female member of staff put it like this:-

“I have had a student ask the same questions to the males teachers that I have

already answered. It’s as if they don’t believe me. “

and

‘I have been asked ( by a Saudi student ) if he could be taught by a man! He

said that only children are taught by women in his country!”

5.3.4 Attitudes Towards Politeness

Some occasional differences in conventions of politeness were noticed, and put

down to cultural differences, notably the open expression of anger or frustration or

the suppression of anger, causing confused cultural signals. Only 7% of

respondents felt that politeness presented a slight problem. 43% were aware of

the issue but felt that it presented no problems and the remainder saw no problems

at all. It was felt by some of the staff interviewed that some of the issues of

politeness centred on the use of indirect suggestions rather than direct instructions,

The general style of the organisation tends to be British, which emphasises indirect

suggestions rather than direct orders. In this way the British staff were able to act

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in what they considered to be a polite way but which foreign staff and students

could misunderstand. When a foreign student failed to carry out a ‘suggestion’

some staff felt offended. As one teacher put it:-

I said to him ( a student who was often late ) ‘perhaps you could try leaving

home a little earlier’ but it had no effect. Next time I’ll try telling him when to get

out of bed!”

5.3.5 Attitudes Towards time

Attitudes towards time did not become a major issue except for punctuality for

class times and people not turning up due to national holidays. Only 6% of

respondents saw time as a problem. The majority ( 53% ) accepted that

timekeeping attitudes were different and accepted these differences. The

remaining 41% reported no problems at all. Punctuality amongst staff was

considered to be essential and all staff were instructed that they were to be on time

and start classes at the appropriate time. In the rare cases when a staff member

repeatedly failed to attended on time disciplinary procedures were invoked which

could range from deducting the teachers pay to, ultimately, dismissal. It was

pointed out however that such measures were very rarely used.

The attitude towards lateness and absence amongst students varied from teacher

to teacher. Some adopted a stricter approach taking such measures as refusing

enter to the classroom and others were more lenient. The school itself had no

formal disciplinary policy of procedures in place to deal with this problem preferring

to leave it to the individual teachers concerned. It is however required to collect

attendance data for the Immigration and Nationality Directorate for those students

who have entered the country on a student visa.

5.4 Good Practice

5.4.1 Language and Communication

The staff at the school were given the opportunity to respond on the subject of the

advantages of cultural diversity in their workplace. The best qualities that they

reported were as follows:-

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• Rewarding • Openness • Co-operation • Curiosity • Variety • More life • More colour • Stereotypes go out of the window • Ability to practise foreign languages • Socialise • Different approaches • Knowledge of other cultures. • Open mindedness • Acceptance of different ideas • Different attitudes to work • Readiness to help

In summary the staff found that having a multicultural environment in which to work

was on the whole stimulating and exciting. The multiple languages in use in the

school in addition to English also gave the staff an opportunity to learn a new

language themselves or to practice another language that they knew.

In addition to languages, the staff also expressed their interest in learning about

another culture and found that the general working environment enabled this to

happen.

5.4.2 Integration

The staff were asked to respond to range of topics relating to the positive benefits

of a culturally diverse working environment. In total 12 areas were assessed in

relation to this area.

In your experience, what are the benefits of a culturally/ ethnically diverse workforce?

13% It improves the communication within the organisation. 19% It improves the social atmosphere. 16% It improves customer relations. 5% It increases the organisation's overall competence. 11% It improves the image of the company. 6% It makes the company more competitive 16% It increases creativity among the staff.

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11% It increases the company's adaptability to new challenges. 2% There are no benefits.

It is clear that respondents valued the stimulation of working in a multinational

environment but saw the key values good communication, good social

atmosphere, increased creativity and adaptability. The lower score on

competitiveness may reflect that respondents, as teachers, focused more on

quality of service than on the commercial competitiveness of the organisation.

The level of integration amongst staff and with clients is generally thought to be

high. Staff and students generally mix in the workplace and outside it socially and

this is considered to be one of the advantages of the job. Staff expressed a strong

desire to learn about other cultures and to acquire new language skills. This

extend to a social programme devised by the school where staff and students

mixed with each other socially and with the wider society in London and the

surrounding areas.

5.5 Recommendations

5.5.1 Formal Diversity Policies

On the whole the school appears to be a model of harmonious cultural diversity

with the exception of some slight discrimination be perceived by a minority of the

staff. However, a number of observations were made during the course of the

investigation which may point towards some recommendations for improvement in

the way policy is disseminated

There was universal ignorance of a written diversity policy but no feeling that it

affected recruitment. One comment was:-

‘I would think so but don’t know the extent of its influence.’

There was an absence of any formal procedures to deal with disciplinary issues

such as lateness amongst staff and students. Whilst it is recognised that these

factors rarely become issues it is felt that formal, written procedures might help to

clarify the situation for staff and students alike.

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5.5.2 Cultural Training Needs

The other area concerns training needs. It was noted that although most

respondents did not feel that internal cultural training was an issue, a few

respondents did feel that cultural training within the organisation might be an

advantage. Areas that might be address are:-

• Politeness and the way this is transmitted linguistically amongst the british

• Punctuality amongst staff and students

• Attitudes towards the gender of teaching and managerial staff.

5.5.3 Social Programmes

The school, like many language schools in the UK, operated a social programme

where staff and students would mix together outside the school environment.

These programmes also allowed students to explore and interact with the wider UK

society. Programmes like these may be usefully replicated in other workplaces

where there is a sizable migrant contingent as this will allow those new to the

country to practise their language skills in a wide range of informal situations; learn

about their new country’s history, geography and economy and learn about their

new country’s social mores

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6 CASE STUDY – A GENERAL HOSPITAL

6.1 Introduction/Background

The hospital that agreed to be part of the project’s case studies is a general

hospital serving a racially and socially mixed community in the East Midlands area

of England.

The hospital serves 360,000 local people, and also provides specialised services

for a wider area and is organised as an NHS Trust, which is an independent

organisation with its own management, competing with other Trusts to provide

services. It has 14 operating theatres and more than 600 beds on its 44-acre site,

located close to the town centre. The medical services on offer include General

Surgery, Head, Neck & Ophthalmology, Medicine & Emergency, Obstetrics &

Gynaecology, and Trauma and Orthopaedics. The hospital currently employs

3,800 staff members.

The town itself is typical of England as a whole in that it contains members from

most ethnic groups including people of Afro-Caribbean, Asian and East Asian and

African origin and, more recently people from Central Europe. This mix is

somewhat reflected in both the staff of the hospital and amongst the hospital’s

clients.

The staff who were investigated were mainly female ( 67% ) and mostly under the

age of 40. Only 20% of respondents were over 40. A slight majority of the

respondents were British born and 63% reported that English was their mother

tongue. 63% of those questioned reported that they were Christian and 25%

reported that they were Muslim. This is later figure is much large than amongst the

population of England as a whole but may reflect the percentage of British born

people living locally with family backgrounds originating in Pakistan and

Bangladesh. The East Midlands does have a greater percentage of people with an

ethnic minority in its population than many other parts of the country.

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Again, 63% reported that they were permanent residents of the country. The

remaining 37% came from the following countries.

• New Zealand

• Ireland

• The Philippines

• India

• Bangladesh

• Nigeria

6.2 Methodology

For this case study a questionnaire was distributed amongst nurses, student

nurses and auxiliary staff in the general surgery department of the hospital. The

questionnaire was the same as that which was administered to other respondents

to the other case studies carried out by the group. Staff were given the

questionnaire to complete during their working hours and invited for interviews to

provide additional information and qualitative data. In addition to the

questionnaires and interviews some respondents added comments on some of the

questions, which again gave added depth to the investigation.

The questionnaire contained 29 questions and was divided into four sections,

personal profile, interaction with diversity, attitudes at work and issues arising from

diversity.

6.3 Issues

6.3.1 Language and Communication

Overall the survey showed that 59% of respondents found that language could be

a slight problem when carrying out their duties. A further 25% said that language

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differences happened but presented no problems. Only 8% found that language

was a serious problem.

All overseas employees of the National Health Service are required to speak

English along with having a nationally recognised qualification. English language

testing is carried out and overseas recruits are advised of this before applying for

posts. Nevertheless, communication between foreign nursing staff and other staff

and patients can sometimes be problematic due to misunderstandings particularly

when discussing some body parts and bodily functions. The English are indirect

when talking about sexual heath, defecation or urination and have developed a

range of euphemisms to cover these areas that are not generally taught in English

classes. For example one nurse reported

‘The patient said she needed to ‘spend a penny’ and I had no idea what she meant by that. I think I embarrassed her a bit because I made her explain herself – now I know it means urinate’

Another issue arising form language is accent. Many of the patients, particularly

older patients speak with a heavily accented British accent which is not always fully

understood by foreign staff who themselves speak with different accents. It was

reported that this possible mismatch could on occasions cause some confusion. A

typical comment in this area from a Nigerian nurse was

‘I just could understand her and she kept asking me to repeat myself. There’s not always time to stop and sort these things out. I sometimes just nodded and carried on with my work’.

6.3.2 Relationships with Co-workers

The vast majority of staff ( 83% ) spent time with people from other ethnic groups.

Of these close colleagues and patients made up the largest proportion. Work

breaks were taken with people from other ethnic backgrounds with 79% of

respondents doing so. The situation outside the workplace however was found to

be quite different with only a minority ( 29% ) socialising with members of other

ethnic groups. This issue is found to be common amongst racial and ethnic groups

in the UK in general where the races tend not to mix social to the same extent that

they do so in the workplace.

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When asked what were the benefits of working with people from other

backgrounds most respondents reported that it was interesting to hear about other

cultures and that swapping recipes was considered one of the highlights.

6.3.3 Attitudes towards Time

Attitudes towards time keeping and holidays were investigated in the questionnaire

and it was found that their was a fairly ready acceptance amongst the respondents

that accurate timekeeping was important. As the hospital ran a 24 hour 7 day a

week shift system timekeeping was an important issue but one that the staff coped

with comfortably.

6.3.4 The Provision of Food

Cultural differences in terms of food appeared to present no major problems

amongst the majority of the staff. There were however some concerns in this area

for a sizable minority.

The food offered in the hospital’s canteens did not cater particularly for any dietary

requirements but this did not prove to be an issues for 69% of respondents who

saw this as not being a problem but with a big enough percentage ( 19% ) thinking

it was a slight problem. When examined in more detail the issues about food were

more to do with healthy options and vegetarian diet rather than centred on ethnicity

considerations although there is a clear overlap in this area. This might suggest

that there is an implicit acceptance of cultural differences and that this issue now

focuses on a common shared attitude towards food and health.

6.3.5 Dress Codes

As far as dress codes were concerned staff, when they are recruited, are advised

that uniforms must be worn and that there are few exceptions allowed.

Headscarves are considered by the hospital to be unacceptable due to health and

hygiene issues. This has lead to a small number of respondents reporting this

issues as a slight concern. A typical response in this area was

‘I like to wear the hijab and I don’t think it is a problem for carrying out my job. They could change the uniform if they wanted to’

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The management’s response to this was that regulations covering uniforms, hair,

nails and jewellery were driven by hygiene considerations and that any exceptions

could be discussed with the NHS Trust in question. The fact that the issue had not

been raised in a formal way suggests that there is an acceptance of the need for

these regulations.

6.3.6 Hierarchies

Hospitals tend to be very hierarchical in structure and the group of respondents

were on the whole at the bottom of the hierarch rather than nearer the top. The

culture of the organisation and the business as a whole assumes that hierarchies

will exist and as such are not challenged to a large extent. However, the English

working environment did come a surprise to some overseas staff who saw it as

more relaxed than that more prevalent in their countries of origin. A response from

one person surveyed was

‘It’s much more relaxed here. People call one another by their first names and its much more friendly.’

and from another:-

‘The atmosphere is more relaxed and friendly than at home. As a woman I’ve got more freedom and respect.’

Some staff found this aspect to be a serious problem in that the relaxed and less

formal atmosphere was misunderstood and that proper respect for their position

was undermined by it. Quite a sizable minority ( 25% ) took this view. An equal

proportion took the opposite view and stated that it was not a problem. This issue

appeared to the one that most divided the respondents the most.

6.3.7 Gender

Of those surveyed 49% considered that whilst gender issues existed they

presented no real problems. Giving and receiving orders from staff of a different

gender happened but did not present any difficulties. A small proportion, in the

region of 20% found that they experienced difficulties in this area however. A

typical response from one female nurse was:-

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‘I wasn’t used to mixing with male nurses in my country and find it hard to tell them what to do. It goes against my nature and I was unhappy to do this to start with’.

This issue appears to be linked with the levels of informality existing in the hospital

and the way that hierarchies were managed. Foreign nurses, particularly those

from Bangladesh said that they were unused to working alongside men and that

they were unsure as to how to establish a working relationship particularly when

giving orders. On the whole the management’s response was ambivalent towards

this issue. One manager who was questioned further thought that this was a

‘personal issue’ not a cultural one which may suggest that some cross-cultural

communication issues go unrecognised and could therefore be the subject of some

additional training.

6.4 Good Practice

6.4.1 Language and Communication

When the staff has time to talk more with their patients they can develop a better

understanding of colloquial speech and English idioms. More time spent talking to

patients also allows staff to attune to the different accents of English spoken both

by ethnic minority patients and staff but also indigenous people who can have an

accent that can be difficult to understand initially.

Having a range of language spoken by staff has been seen as an advantage when

dealing with patients who themselves do not have English as a first language and

so need language support when in hospital. For example the nurse interviewed

who originated from Bangladesh reported that on a number of occasions she was

assist with the language needs of Bengali speakers. A comment was

‘It really helps them ( the patient ) to explain in Bengali especially when they first arrive and are a bit confused. I’m not always here though and that can cause a problem. Anyway it’s not really part of my job’.

The hospital does offer interpreters when and where it can but this service often

relies on volunteers. The supply of the service can be patchy at times as it does

depend on the availability of suitable skilled people.

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6.4.2 Relationships with Co-workers

Cultural differences were considered to be a benefit of the job particularly those

staff who were new to the country. Ethnic diversity is not a new thing in the health

service and many policies and practises have been put in place to acknowledge

and support differences in this area.

The hospital has in place policies that ensure that management and supervisory

staff are aware of their individual responsibilities to comply with the requirements of

their policies. They are also expected to ensure that unfair discrimination does not

occur in the workplace or in their area of responsibility. There are clearly defined

disciplinary procedures and the Trust has powers to investigate complaints made

to it. In addition, they must also ensure that the criteria used to select candidates

for appointment, promotion, redeployment, training, and selection for redundancy

do not discriminate unfairly.

The staff are also under similar obligations to treat patients/clients and other

members of the public equally regardless of sex, sexual orientation, marital status,

race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, creed, religion, disability or age.

They must also actively promote equality of opportunity by drawing to the

management’s attention any suspected discriminatory acts or practices. The

hospital policy also prohibits any harassing or bullying other members of staff

because of their sex, sexual orientation, marital status, race, colour, nationality,

ethnic or national origins.

Disciplinary procedures exist to ensure that these policies are adhered to. In any

situation where there are grounds for suspicion of misconduct, a proper and

thorough investigation will be undertaken to establish the facts. If, following a

thorough investigation, a manager is satisfied that there has been a breach of

conduct which warrants formal disciplinary action, one of the forms of discipline

that may be used include:

• an oral warning

• a first written warning

• a final written warning

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• dismissal

.

These would normally be taken sequentially but the seriousness of the offence will

determine which stage in the procedure is applied. If, following investigation, it is

felt that formal disciplinary action beyond the level of an oral warning may be

necessary, the manager authorised to take disciplinary action will consult a

Personnel Manager to discuss the matter and then, if considered appropriate,

convene a disciplinary hearing. During this process employees may be suspended

if they are suspected of committing an act of gross misconduct . The Trust lists

racial harassment, harassment of a disabled person and deliberate discrimination

contrary to the Trust’s Equal Opportunities Policy as offences that can lead to

suspension and ultimately, dismissal.

6.4.3 Hierarchies

The more relaxed attitudes to authority and hierarchies, whilst may be new and

difficult to accept for some respondents are considered to be a benefit to most. The

overall opinion was that the working atmosphere was improved when it was more

informal. Some training in this area however was thought to be required by some to

emphasis that respect to those in authority can still be paid even though the forms

of address and general demeanour do not convey respect in some cultures. In

particular using first names and not titles when addressing supervisors and not

standing when supervisors enter the room. Both these forms of behaviour were

discovered during the investigation.

6.5 Recommendations

6.5.1 Language and Communication

Language support and training is not offered by the hospital which expects recruits

to have reached an acceptable standard before being offered a post.

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A clear need was identified for additional communicative training to deal with

idiomatic speech and speech that some of the overseas staff considered to be non-

standard English. Such classes might offer and language training in idiomatic

speech and help staff deal with a range of accents of English.

As a matter of policy many official documents are at least partly translated into

other languages such as Bengali, Urdu, Arabic and Chinese. This translation

service often depends upon the local needs of the population as whole. The

hospital could extend this to some of the signage around the hospital and offer

more translations where possible. It has to be accepted however that this is a

costly service and it is not possible to cater for all possible languages present in

the population.

Wherever possible the hospital should offer more interpreters and recognise the

valuable contribution that overseas staff make in this area.

6.5.2 Cultural Differences

Allowing for the dietary requirements of the staff and reviewing the uniform policy

relating to the wearing of head coverings for some women could respect cultural

differences more. It is understood however that uniform changes are not something

that the hospital could embark on by itself as their policies must reflect the national

situation in this regard.

6.5.3 Hierarchies

More cultural training is required in this area to explain the attitudes towards

authority and hierarchies in order to explain British attitudes more clearly. This

might focus on the needs of foreign staff who expect a more authoritarian work

environment and misunderstand the perceived informality in Britain.

6.5.4 Gender

Once again in this area clear training needs have been uncovered. Men and

women are treated differently in some of the home countries of some of the

overseas staff and to some extent these differences have been problematic.

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The different attitudes to gender could well be part of any training programme

developed to illustrate that it is acceptable to address a man in a friendly and

familiar way without causing offence and discomfort.

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7 General Summary

The UK case studies were carried out during the spring and summer of 2006

amongst a selected group of government organisations, private companies and

educational institutions.

The methods adopted were a combination of questionnaire and one to one

interviews with some of the respondents. The questionnaire was developed by the

UK team and was standardised across all case studies. Interviews were carried out

after the questionnaires were completed and took place outside the workplace.

Notes were taken during the interview process and some of these have been

included in the report as direct quotations. Both the management and staff of the

organisations took part in the research which gave a more balanced view of the

effects of the intercultural workplace.

At all times privacy and confidentiality were maintained. It was felt, by the

researchers and the respondents that the issues under investigation were of a

sensitive nature. Because of this some of the organisations involved preferred to

remain anonymous and their wishes have been respected.

Each case study has reported under three major headings these being issues,

good practise and recommendations. The overall conclusion based on the findings

of these reports has also been drawn up in this way.

7.1 Issues.

A number of issues have emerged across all investigations. These issues can be

categorised as those to do with race, gender, language, integration and to a lesser

extent religion. The level and intensity of these issues varied slightly between the

different case studies. For example, in some organisations it was felt that gender

issues were more important than race. In others, for example the café, there was

no indication of racism.

Language and communication styles appeared to be the more significant issue

uncovered by the investigation. Language was seen by some as a barrier to

integration both with other workers in the same organisation, management and

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customers. For example in the hospital overseas staff did not always understand

colloquialisms used by patients and in the café at busy and noisy times language

ability was put under strain. In some case studies politeness was found to be an

are where misunderstanding could arise. In the school for example it was reported

that foreign staff and students could sometimes misinterpret the British tendency

for indirect suggestions instead of direct instructions.

The situation report outlines the background to the ethnic makeup of the UK.

Although the UK has had a large ethnic minority population for many years there

remains some racial tensions and examples of racism in the workplace. A number

of instances of racial discrimination were reported in the case studies although the

number of such incidents was low. At the university for example some staff felt

that they were the subject of some mild racial discrimination.

Some cases of gender discrimination were also identified. The investigations found

that attitudes towards women varied depending on ethnic background. This was

marked when it involved women in positions of authority dealing with men from

different cultures. The school is an example of this where some students did not

want to be taught by female teachers.

Religion appeared not to be a major factor in the investigation. Issues relating to

diet and hygiene associated with religion, in terms of the availability of particular

food, dress or washing facilities did exist but on the whole were managed

appropriately. Dress was more of an issue in the hospital than elsewhere.

Attitudes towards time and punctuality also sometimes caused issues but on the

whole there was an acceptance amongst those surveyed that there was a

necessity to be punctual.

It was also found that different ethnic groups mixed fairly frequently in workplace

based social situations and managed any differences without too much conflict.

Few examples of conflict were reported.

7.2 Good Practise

Ethnic diversity was seen by a number of organisations as a positive advantage in

the workplace. From the point of view of the employee, ethnic diversity made for a

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more stimulating environment it was reported. From the point of view of the

business, having a wider ethnic mix at work often helped when dealing with

customers from a similar ethnic or linguistic background. Immigration into the UK

has a long history, which has been reported in the Situation Analysis part of the

report. There has been a growing acceptance of migrants over that period and a

gradual reduction in negative attitudes towards diversity amongst the native

population.

The national situation report highlighted the extent to which legislation has been

put in place to regulate diversity in the workplace. As this is the case almost all the

organisations studied had clear policies and procedures in place covering this

area. On the whole these policies enshrined the good practises and were known

and understood by employees. Human Resource departments take this on as one

of their main responsibilities and issues guidelines and documentation and, in

some cases, training to ensure that these policies are understood.

On more practical level different organisations had taken steps to support the

intercultural work environment. The University of Westminster has developed a

diversity workbook to highlight many of the issues raised in this area. The hospital

supports languages by publishing documents in many of the common languages in

use and supplies interpreters when and where it can. The school has a social

programme that allows staff and student to mix more with each other.

7.3 Recommendations

A view has emerged from the case studies that on the whole most organisations

would benefit from some form of language training to enable the employees to

work more effectively together and to communicate more easily with their clients. In

some cases it was shown that training in cultural differences would also be an

advantage. Culture training would be most effective in the areas of attitudes

towards time and holidays, gender, dress and to a lesser extent food and hygiene.

Training could also be an advantage when understanding the ways that hierarchies

are managed in the workplace and the different attitudes towards displays of

respect towards authority in a low power distance culture like Britain’s.

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It also emerged that training might raise awareness of the issues of cultural

differences even when the particular environment showed few signs of difficult. In

this sense the training might act as a preventative measure.

Overall the issues of food and hygiene, although not a predominant one, could be

addressed by the provision of extra facilities. Once again, by raising the level of

cultural awareness through training, these issues could be resolved.

Whereas all of the organisations survey had policies and procedures in place

covering diversity in the workplace not all employees were aware of them. For

most larger organisations in the UK this is a legal requirement the background to

which has been detailed in the Situation Analysis part of this document. However,

It is thought that all workplaces would benefit from a wider dissemination of

information on diversity that these organisations already have put in place.

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The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants

Response to Secure Borders, Safe Haven: Integration with Diversity in Modern Britain (Home Office White Paper February 2002)

The Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees

School’s Race Equality Policies

The Department for Education and Skills

The future of higher education White Paper (Cm 5735) and the Higher Education Act 2004: Race Impact Assessment

Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)

Managing Support for the Attainment of Pupils from Minority Ethnic Groups

Office of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools

Achievement of Black Caribbean Pupils: Three Successful Primary Schools

Office of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools

Achievement of Black Caribbean Pupils: Three Successful Secondary Schools

Office of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools

Race Equality Scheme

Haringey Council

Gateway to the Professions Report

Department for Education and Skills

The duty to promote race equality A Guide For Schools

Commission for Racial Equality

Ethnic Minority Outreach: An evaluation

Department for Work and Pensions

Labour migration to the UK

Institute for Public Policy Research

Ethnic Minorities in the Labour Market

The Cabinet Office

Work permits and foreign labour in the UK: a statistical review

Migration Research Unit University College London

Integration: mapping the field

The Home Office

The Champions of Race For Opportunity

Race for Opportunity

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Race equality in public services

The Home Office

Race Equality: The Home Secretary’s Employment Targets

The Home Office

A History of Immigration to Britain

The BBC

Winning with Cultural Diversity

This National Report includes:

An analysis of immigration into the United Kingdom

Case studies on intercultural workplaces in the United Kingdom

Recommendations on how to benefit from the intercultural workplace

See also the National Reports for:

Bulgaria

Finland

Germany: State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Greece

Ireland

Italy

Norway

Poland

Sweden

Other planned project outcomes:

Trans-national sector-specific information booklets

Training materials (Video, DVD) European database with information relevant for intercultural communication

Diploma course “the European Intercultural Workplace”

Website: www.eiworkplace.net