Meet Tara, a Software Engineer working in Bengaluru. She uses a wheelchair due to a spinal cord injury. She faces several mobility challenges that her peers often take for granted.
She usually uses the ramp in the office to move between floors. But the ramp is poorly maintained and extremely narrow, making it quite difficult to use. Management does not seem to care about its regular maintenance.
This is an example of everyday situations for many employees with disabilities, highlighting one of the many systemic issues that they face. The lack of digital and physical accessibility, creates significant barriers impacting both the organisation and employees with disabilities. For employees with disabilities, it may result in reduced productivity, lack of motivation and increase their stress levels. The organisation in turn risks losing on talent, diversity and creativity in the workplace simply because they did not put accessible accommodations in place.
To tackle these problems, organisations should take proactive steps to ensure that all employees’ needs are met by implementing accessibility facilities and having inclusive policies.
This is where the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy becomes vital to the workplace.
The EEO Policy is essential for fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. The sole purpose is to eliminate any kind of discrimination based on ability, colour, creed, caste, race, gender, religion etc. Without having a strong EEO Policy companies risk having inequities in the workplace which could affect the job morale as well as the overall productivity of the workforce.
What should an EEO Policy entail?
In accordance with Section 21 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, read with Rule 8, of the Disabilities Rules any organisation with 20 or more employees will have to take necessary action to ensure a conducive work environment is provided to persons with disabilities to perform their roles and excel in the establishment.
These actions include:
- Setting up appropriate facilities and amenities for persons with disabilities to enable them to effectively discharge their duties in the establishment
- Creating an accessible environment and making available assistive devices as required
- Appointing a Liaison officer to oversee the provision of required facilities/amenities including the process of recruitment for persons with disabilities. This Liaison Officer shall be part of the Human Resources team reporting to the Founder of the Company
- Setting up a grievance redressal mechanism for addressing the matters related to the employment of persons with disabilities
- Ensuring that all grievances regarding the selection of person(s) with disability, training, promotion, transfer posting, leave & preference in accommodation allocation etc. is addressed in a fair and equitable manner.
- Ensuring that no person is denied an opportunity on the ground of disability
- Regularly communicating the organisation’s commitment to this policy
- Developing leaders and champions across the organisation who advocate for diversity and foster inclusive values and team culture
What are the consequences to not following the EEO as an organisation?
As per Rules 3(2) and 3(3) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, the policy must be visible to all personnel working on the premises and published on the company’s website. Furthermore, Section 21(1) mandates companies to register a copy of the policy with the State or Chief Commissioner. Section 2 of the Act states that failure to comply with the provisions may result in fines of up to INR 5,00,000/-
How can Serein help you?
Serein’s extensive subject matter expertise in workplace inclusion and legal compliance can help you efficiently establish a culture of equal opportunities in your organisation. Our comprehensive services include:
- DEI measurement: Measuring the existing work culture of your organisation, including barriers to equal opportunities like hidden biases and discrimination, is essential to determine a way forward. Serein has developed a wide range of scientifically-researched DEI Tools to help you visualise ground realities and diagnose the problem areas.
- Policy drafting services: Once the problems are identified the next step is to curate policies which effectively address them while also ensuring compliance with the provisions of the law. Serein’s team of lawyers are well-trained to draft Equal Employment Opportunity policies according to the specific culture needs of your organisation.
- Safety and inclusion training: To prevent discrimination in the very beginning, it is imperative to sensitise employees and foster inclusion at personal levels within teams. Serein has developed multiple flagship as well as customised training programs that help employees tackle bias and unfair treatment at work to build respect and belonging in teams. .
To know more about our Equal Employment Opportunities services please write to us at hello@serein.in.