Skip to Content
Home

ACCA and FSB Host Discussion on SMEs and the Equality Bill

Submitted by girlsmed on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 12:50

Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) will need to be increasingly mindful of equality and diversity issues long after the controversy over the Equality Bill has died down, according to a panel of experts from academia, business and politics.

The experts gathered at a debate called Equality and Diversity in the SME sector: after the bill, organised by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and the Federation of Small Business (FSB).

The Equality Bill is currently undergoing Committee stage consideration in the House of Lords, and SMEs have been exempt from some of the provisions, such as reporting on the pay gap between male and female employees.

Panellists at the event, which was chaired by ACCA Council Member Sara Harvey FCCA, included:

Helen Brand, Chief Executive of ACCA
Andrew Cave, Head of Policy at the FSB
Lord Cotter of Congresbury, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Business, Innovation and Skills
Chris Creegan, director of people and public affairs at the National Centre for Social Research
Mark Harper MP, Conservative Shadow Minister for Disabled People
Andy Love MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Small Business Group
Professor Peter Urwin, Director of the Centre for Employment Research, University of Westminster

According to the panellists, small businesses are among the Government’s strongest allies in its efforts to improve equality and diversity. Working for a small business is itself a way for many to sidestep discrimination or negative attitudes, and a way out of disadvantage. Small businesses are able to achieve these positive outcomes for employees without the benefit and burden of written policies.

Panellists noted, however, that an explicit and systematic commitment to equality and diversity is necessary for small businesses themselves to reap the full benefits of a diverse workforce. Such commitments need not involve long and complex legal documents; given the right advice and support, small businesses can create policies that are fit for purpose, without compromising their flexibility as employers.

Helen Brand, ACCA’s chief executive, says: “SMEs need to look beyond the controversy of the Equality Bill and focus on what good employment practice actually is. We need to shift the debate from the law and the cost of non-compliance to good practice and its benefits.”

John Wright, National Chairman, Federation of Small Businesses, said:
“It is important that the equalities agenda is relevant for small businesses. This event was an important opportunity to refocus the equality debate onto the people who employ more than half the private sector workforce.

Small firms don’t have the HR team that big businesses have to ensure they are following the frequently changing equality laws and do not have the resources to put in place comprehensive policies on equality. Written policies don’t create equality and we need practical measures and simple guidance to make these difficult laws applicable for the majority of UK employers.”

Similar entries
  • Work-Life Balance for Small Businesses is Achievable, Finds ACCA New Enquiry Into Flexible Working

    New Year is a time for making resolutions, and many of those returning to work this week will no doubt be thinking about how they can improve their work-life balance, finds ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) as it publishes a report into flexible working.

    The report, entitled Flexible Working: Challenges for Business, reveals that the UK’s existing working culture needs to be challenged to enable flexible working to flourish, especially within small businesses.

  • ACCA Pakistan Launches SME Survival Kit

    ACCA Pakistan, in partnership with stakeholders like Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) and local chambers, has been focusing on enhancing accounting, bookkeeping and taxation skills and knowledge of SME owner managers.

    The ACCA Pakistan SME sub-committee has commissioned an SME Survival Kit that aims to provide practical guidance to SMEs on managing challenges like access to finance, succession planning and maintaining reliable and relevant accounting records.

  • Luton’s Budding Business Entrepreneurs

    Luton sixth formers were introduced to the world of business this week, as ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) played the educational game ‘BigHand.biz’ with students from Luton Sixth Form College. The event was part of a combined initiative from ACCA and Inspiring Futures that aims to introduce students to the world of business.

    Justine Frost, business relationship manager - student promotions at ACCA UK, said:

  • Global Reporting Initiative: A Call to Action

    As the number of companies issuing sustainability reports reaches a record high, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has invited all organisations who issue these reports to have their say on why they do it.

    A unique survey is being carried out in conjunction with the second GRI Readers’ Choice Awards, which are supported by ACCA as a Content Partner Organisation.

  • Effective Internal Controls Are Essential for Every Commercial Business, Regardless of Their Size, Say ACCA and EFAA

    “We support efforts to reduce or eliminate burdens where their identifiable net benefits are exceeded by the costs of compliance, but we do not believe that allowing member states to exempt micro-companies from the current, standard requirements to prepare and publish annual accounts would achieve any significant reductions towards this aim” say ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and EFAA (the European Federation of Accountants and Auditors for small and medium-sized enterprises) in a joint position paper sent today to MEPs.

  • Equality Now Commends Saudi Arabia for Annulment of Forced Divorce

    Historic Decision In Forced Divorce Case In Saudi Arabia Reunites Couple After Four Years Of Separation

    Equality Now Commends King Abdullah For Re-Examination Of Forced Divorce Decision And Urges Saudi Arabia To Revoke Male Guardianship

    Reunion of siblings Suleiman and Nuha

  • 100th Survey of Small Business Finds 7 Out of 10 Firms Seeking Face to Face Advice

    Small businesses are turning to trusted sources for advice as the economic climate, cashflow and bad debt become their dominant problems according to the 100th Quarterly Survey of Small Business in Britain released today by The Open University Business School, in association with Barclays Bank and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

  • Businesses in India Need to Prepare Urgently for the Introduction in 2011 of IFRS Says ACCA

    ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) asserts in a new report called “Changing the I in IGAAP – Perspectives in India’s transition to IFRS”, that Indian businesses need to be better prepared to meet the introduction of IFRS (International Financial reporting Standards) in 2011.

    Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board commends the report in its foreword, which he says “continues ACCA’s long-standing support for global standards, and will provide a useful aid to Indian companies as they implement IFRS.”

  • CDC Becomes ACCA Approved Employer

    The Central Depository Company of Pakistan (CDC) has been registered as an Approved Employer with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the global body for professional accountants.

  • Is Diversity Awareness Important in Business?

    It is easy to say that diversity awareness is a hot topic for 2009 and employers should take this October, Diversity Awareness Month, as an opportunity to share this with employees. With the appointment of Sonya Sotomayor to the Supreme Court and the recent Crowley/Gates controversy, the entire nation has become aware of how important it is to understand each others’ differences. No place needs to be knowledgeable of this more than the workplace.