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Paradigm Precision Burnley Ltd has entered a legally binding agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) following an Employment Tribunal decision that found it had discriminated against one of its employees, Mr Peter Allen.

The agreement commits Paradigm Precision Burnley to carrying out an action plan to improve its approach to equality and diversity, including steps such as:

• Rolling out updated equality and diversity training to all staff and providing enhanced equality training to the Senior Leadership and Human Resources team;
• Revising its induction materials for new staff to ensure they understand expected standards of behaviour;
• Publicising and monitoring the staff hotline to ensure staff are aware they can use it to make confidential complaints;
• Appointing equality & diversity champions within key areas of its business and conducting regular reviews with them to monitor any emerging issues of concern.

Rebecca Hilsenrath, Chief Executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said:

“A decade since the Equality Act 2010 made it illegal for anyone to be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation, we would hope that legal claims such as Mr Allen’s wouldn’t be necessary.

“Whilst harassment and victimisation take a heavy toll, Mr Allen’s strength in seeking justice and the cooperation of Paradigm Precision in signing this agreement should be an important step in protecting any of its employees from experiencing such treatment in future.”

The EHRC will also monitor Paradigm Precision Burnley throughout the period of the agreement to ensure all the agreed actions are carried out.

A spokesperson for Paradigm Precision Burnley has said:

“We do not tolerate harassment or discrimination of any kind. We reinforced our equality policies and training in 2018 and continue to do so on an annual basis. As a business, we are fully committed to, and encourage diversity and inclusion. We welcome working with the EHRC to further strengthen our processes and education across our workforce.”

Press contact details

For more press information contact the Commission's media office on:

0161 829 8102

07767 272 818 (out of hours)