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Survey: 38% of HR staff still not trained on recent diversity legislation

Fourteen months since the Employment Equality Regulations 2003 relating to sexual orientation and religion or belief came into force, 38% of HR staff have still not been trained on the legislation, according to a new survey by Fuel.

The survey of 298 HR managers and executives was carried out in January 2005. The sample was equally split between the public and private sectors and revealed that the private sector is falling far behind the public sector in training on this vital issue.

Within the public sector, 72% of people surveyed had received training compared with 11% in 2004. In the private sector 53% have now received training in comparison with 9% in 2004.

While acknowledging the increase in people trained, Fuel say the numbers are still falling far short of the mark. Steve Dineen, Chief Executive of Fuel said, "It is surprising that HR staff are not fully up to date and trained on all existing legislation in order for them to ensure their organisations compliance with the regulations and address the necessary training requirements. Not only are they playing catch-up in terms of the legislation already in force, they are also going to have their work cut-out preparing for forthcoming regulations as well."

In October 2006, age discrimination legislation comes into force. Fuel's survey found that 85% of public sector and 62% of private sector staff were aware of the legislation, making a total of 73% of all those questioned. However, only 19% of the sample had received any training to date.

External link

A free report on the findings of the 2005 Fuel Diversity Training Survey can be obtained from Fuel by visiting www.fuel-europe.com

Please note: Training Reference is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites.

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