The hateful thuggery being witnessed is from the very society that organisations recruit from, and provide services and sell products to.
There are several practical steps that can be taken by employers in response to this hatred.
Read more: Back to basics... Criminal offences outside the workplace
The most obvious one is identifying work colleagues who have been gracing our screens with violent, racist behaviour. As an employer, the actions of an employee outside of work are of concern, and people should be held to account. The employer has a duty to inform the police if they have identified one of their employees breaking the law, whether committing assault, arson, looting, vandalism or spouting racist slurs. If this is in the nature of the person carrying out these offences, then the question of their suitability for the role they have been employed in becomes paramount.
If there are grounds to suspect a member of your organisation has been involved with violent protest, disorder and racism, then it is likely they have breached your organisation’s values, which typically include respect and/or inclusion. It is also most probable that organisational policies and the code of conduct has being violated.
It falls upon HR to initiate a fair but robust investigation, separate from any police action, to ascertain the facts. HR must then follow disciplinary process and issue an appropriate sanction if there is a case to answer, which may include dismissal. In this instance, reviewing a person’s online digital presence may highlight other instances of unacceptable behaviour, which could potentially bring the organisation into disrepute. This action would send a strong message that equity, diversity and inclusion matters, and is not just lip service to lofty ideals.
Failing to take any action would also send a negative message that it is okay to behave like this, granting permission for it to continue and creating a culture where racism can fester and grow.
Read more: Criminal offences outside work: what can employers do?
Secondly, employers have a duty of care towards any ethnic minority staff who will be feeling apprehensive, especially those who are in the affected and targeted areas.
Senior leaders particularly, but also HR, need to reach out to ethnic minority groups and reassure them that the organisation is not oblivious to what they may be feeling. There may be a need to remind staff how they can raise concerns or flag acts of discrimination through existing channels, whether that is through their line manager, HR, or anonymously.
Where resources allow, ethnic minority employees can be directed to additional support such as an employee assistance programme to access counselling. Many people will be experiencing anxiety that impacts their mental health and wellbeing.
In cases where workplaces have been trashed by mobs, an option to consider could involve allowing staff of all ethnicities to work from home if there is a risk to them coming into work. If that is not an option, then deploy additional security measures to safeguard staff and the premises, and have emergency drills in place so that staff know where to evacuate if at risk and how to raise the alarm.
Read more: Handling allegations of criminal behaviour in the workplace
Finally, discrimination training could be rolled out to ensure that staff understand and are clear about how racism shows up through microaggressions and macroaggressions throughout the employee lifecycle.
Fear of difference and fear of the unknown has taken us all to a scary place. Given that the focus of the far right has been Muslims and refugees, having fireside chats with a Muslim and separately a refugee may help to dispel myths and far-right tropes, as well as break down barriers – the building blocks of a cohesive society.
By Shakil Butt, founder of consultancy HR Hero for Hire
