Commission publishes Terms of Reference for investigation of Metropolitan Police Service

15 Dec 2014 01:57 PM

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has yesterday published the Terms of Reference for its investigation into unlawful discrimination and victimisation of police service staff by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

The Terms of Reference set out the scope of the investigation, which will consider whether or not there was sex, race or sexual orientation discrimination or victimisation of police service staff in their treatment under MPS procedures for dealing with complaints of discrimination. The purpose will be to identify improvements needed to the procedures for handling discrimination complaints in the future.

The focus of the investigation will be the MPS Fairness at Work and misconduct procedures. It will be carried out under section 20 of the Equality Act 2006, which gives the Commission powers to investigate compliance with equality legislation when it suspects that an unlawful act may have been committed.

As part of the investigation, the Commission will examine evidence including:

• documentation and the views and experiences of police service staff from the beginning of January 2011 until the end of September 2014
• the outcomes of discrimination complaints heard under MPS procedures
• how complaints of discrimination in the workplace have been dealt with in comparison with other types of complaint
• whether steps taken subsequent to cases investigated have reduced or eliminated the risk of unlawful acts occurring.

This investigation is a response to concerns about the MPS's treatment of female, BME and gay officers, and follows the Central London Employment Tribunal's recent findings in the case of Carol Howard v Metropolitan Police Service of sex and race discrimination and victimisation in contravention of the Equality Act 2010.

The Commission’s status as a regulator with statutory investigation powers will ensure wholly independent scrutiny and enable the Commission to recommend how the MPS’s handling of complaints about employment practices where concerns were raised that they were discriminatory, can be improved.

The Commission will start collecting evidence in January 2015 and publish a report of its findings and recommendations for action by the end of next year. Laura Carstensen, a member of the Commission's Board, has been appointed as the lead Commissioner for this investigation.

Chief Executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Mark Hammond, said:
“We have launched this investigation to help deliver a better and lawful process for handling staff claims of discrimination within the Met. We share their ambition that no member of staff should feel unfairly treated because of their gender, race or sexual orientation.
“As our work develops we will be examining the emerging findings and developing our organisational understanding. We act in accordance with the Regulators' Code so that the use of our powers is effective and proportionate, and at all times keep our approach under review in the light of developments to ensure it is still the best way of delivering sustainable improvements.”

For further information please contact the Commission’s media office on 0161 829 8102, out of hours 07767 272 818.

Notes to Editors

• Information on how MPS staff can submit their views and experiences of discrimination under MPS procedures can be found at Investigation into Metropolitan Police Service along with the Terms of Reference. The Commission’s investigation is only considering issues of race, sex and sexual orientation discrimination towards MPS staff between January 2011 and September 2014. All representations will be dealt with confidentially.
• The Equality Act 2006 gives the Commission a range of enforcement powers to ensure compliance with equality legislation. Our Compliance and Enforcement Policy explains more about our powers and how we use them. It is available from our website at Enforcement powers. 
• The Board of the Commission has designated Laura Carstensen lead Commissioner for this investigation. Laura is a senior lawyer, formerly an equity partner at Slaughter and May. As well as her role as Commissioner at the EHRC, she was recently appointed as non-executive director and chair of the Values & Ethics Committee of The Co-operative Bank plc. As a Member and Deputy Chairman of the Competition Commission, she has chaired numerous statutory inquiries.
• The Equality and Human Rights Commission is a statutory body established under the Equality Act 2006. It is an independent body responsible for protecting and promoting equality and human rights in Great Britain. It aims to encourage equality and diversity, eliminate unlawful discrimination, and promote and protect human rights. The Commission enforces equality legislation on age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation. It encourages compliance with the Human Rights Act 1998 and is accredited by the UN as an ‘A status’ National Human Rights Institution.