Home > TV > Information for TV Broadcasting Industry > Broadcast Guidance > Equal Opportunities Toolkit

Introduction

Everyone in our society should have an equal chance to benefit from training and work opportunities. At Ofcom, we have a duty required by the Communications Act 2003 (“the Act”) to promote the importance of equal opportunities to all radio and television broadcasters. It’s our job to take whatever steps we see fit to make sure that broadcasters are able to comply with their licence requirements on equal opportunities:

• for everyone of either sex;
• for everyone of any racial group;
• for disabled people.

The Act also says that Ofcom must make sure that every broadcaster we license has proper arrangements to promote equal opportunities for all.

That’s the reason for this ‘toolkit’. We want to promote equal opportunities by helping you, the broadcasters, to put good systems in place. We hope you’ll find that it’s a useful source of effective methods, and that it suggests a range of activities that you can use or adapt.^(-1-)

What do we mean by ‘equal opportunities’?

The Act is clear: men and women, people of any race, and disabled people must have equal opportunities in their employment with you. This means that their differences must not put them at any disadvantage when you offer jobs, training and promotions. Your procedures must make sure that every job applicant, and employee, is treated as an individual. This may mean treating people differently, for example by making a reasonable adjustment, in order to ensure that they are treated fairly. In some areas, this may need positive action from you – for example, with targeted training – to help people who often miss out: women, people from minority ethnic communities and disabled people. Training can also equip employees with the skills they need to compete equally for jobs.

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) contains a duty on public authorities, including public sector broadcasters and Ofcom, to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people, including people with long term health conditions. This also includes a duty to promote positive attitudes towards disabled people and promote their participation in public life. The Disability Equality Duty will apply, from December 2006, to the BBC , Channel 4 and the Welsh Fourth Channel (S4C). It may also apply to private sector companies commissioned by public sector broadcasters. The Disability Rights Commission ( DRC ) can provide you with more information, their website is http://www.drc.gov.uk .

Similar requirements already exist in relation to race under the Race Relations ( Ame ndment) Act 2000 (RRAA). Further information is available on the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) website . Although the duties under the RRAA only apply to some broadcasters, they are often matters of good practice that other broadcasters might like to consider as part of their approach to equal opportunities.

The scope of this booklet

This booklet is not intended to be a set of rules. Rather, it’s to help you take effective action and make fast progress by learning from the experiences of others. We think that small-to-medium sized broadcasters will find it particularly useful, although the major organisations may also find plenty of food for thought.

The activities in this toolkit aren’t compulsory. But, you’ll be able to show that you are meeting your licence requirements much more easily if you put various procedures in place. Steps such as having an equal opportunities statement and supporting policies, and monitoring and recording the gender, ethnicity and disabilities of your staff, are important in showing your commitment to equal opportunities and are a start to making suitable arrangements to promote them.

Although your licence requirements are in relation to gender, disability and race, good practice in these areas can create wider benefits and a culture that positively thrives on people being different. This benefits the staff, management and the business as a whole. There are other areas of equality legislation, existing and planned, that you should be aware of, including laws on discrimination on the grounds of age and sexual orientation. More information can be found on the DTI Website .

Equal opportunities are good for broadcasting

Any industry will benefit from offering equal opportunities, but broadcasting has even more to gain. By drawing talent from the widest possible pool, it feeds the creativity that the public expects and which helps to grow profits.

By promoting equal opportunities, broadcasters also may find that the broad mix of communities which make up the UK population is reflected by their own staff and programming.

Equal opportunities also make good financial sense, even in an industry that has more than its fair share of hopeful applicants. These benefits include:

• making it easier to find new talent;
• a broader mix of people providing new opportunities for creativity;
• creating a more inclusive place to work, benefiting all your staff;
• a stronger, more positive corporate identity; and
• a better reputation as a socially responsible business.

Footnotes:

1.- Ofcom has a duty to promote equal opportunities which is described in Section 27 of the Act. The requirement for broadcasters to promote equal opportunities is included in all Broadcasting Act licences, and derives from Section 337 of the Act. Previously, this rule only applied to a few radio licence holders and most television broadcasters - but not to satellite and cable companies.

• Equal opportunities: a toolkit for broadcasters [pdf]
• Equal opportunities: a toolkit for broadcasters (large text version) [pdf]
• Equal opportunities: a toolkit for broadcasters (printed version) [pdf]

Back to top