Employment lawyers at Birketts LLP are cautioning UK employers against making any drastic changes to their own DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) campaigns following US President Trump’s swift action to fulfil his promise to dismantle US Federal Government DEI initiatives by placing all existing DEI employees on administrative leave.
Private sector companies such as Amazon, Meta, Walmart and McDonalds have also confirmed that they are reducing their DEI initiatives.
Matthew Newnham, Employment Partner at Birketts, said: “It remains to be seen whether any UK subsidiaries of US corporations will follow suit.
“The legislative framework in the UK, under the Equality Act 2010, places obligations on employers to take certain positive steps in favour of those employees (or prospective employees) with ‘protected characteristics’ and employers may increase the risk of future litigation if they row back on their current approach. Not only is there a legal risk of non-compliance, but the risk of bad publicity and damage to reputation cannot be underestimated.
“The recent introduction of the new statutory duty on employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment, in force since 24 October 2024, has made it even more important for employers to proactively consider what can be done to reduce incidence of sexual harassment, with significant financial penalties for a failure to comply. Under the Government’s recent Employment Rights Bill, this duty looks set to be further strengthened in the future.
“Many UK employers have seen the positive benefits of implementing comprehensive ED&I policies and initiatives, both in terms of attracting and retaining highly skilled staff as well as reducing the number of costly employment tribunal claims. Making deliberate efforts to scale back on ED&I risks sending out the wrong message to the workforce and increases the risk of future claims.”