SOCIAL housing providers will be urged to place equality awareness at the centre of their business at a seminar, next week, organised by Crutes Law Firm.

Crutes, which has offices in Teesside and Newcastle, is holding the seminar at its Teesside office, in response to the new public sector equality duty, which was introduced by the Government last month. I will be among the speakers at the seminar.

Following the implementation of the Equality Act 2010, the latest duties bring new obligations that affect the way social housing organisations operate and how they manage their employees.

The equality duty replaces the three previous duties on race, disability and gender, bringing them together into a single duty, and extends it to cover age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, and gender reassignment.

It is no longer enough for an organisation to have an equality policy manual in their HR department, they must ensure understanding and awareness of these issues is at the very heart of their business operations.

If they do not, they face falling foul of these new regulations, which can be costly and cause irreparable damage to their reputation.

The new equality duty requires public bodies to recognise the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations in the course of developing policies and delivering services.

The aim is for public bodies to consider the needs of all individuals in their day-to-day work, in developing policy, in delivering services, and in relation to their own employees.

Comprehensive training for staff at every level is the only way to ensure that you adequately adhere to these regulations – to avoid your staff and, consequently, your business, falling into the potential traps.”

Alan Ross, a strategic risk management consultant of Zurich Insurance PLC, will also speak at the breakfast event about issues associated with business continuity and managing business interruption.

The seminar, from 8.30am to 11.15am on Friday, May 20, will be at Crutes’ office in University Boulevard, Teesdale Park, Stockton. To book a place, call 0191-233-9700 or email helen.gray@crutes.co.uk

• David Gibson is a partner at Crutes