Last year on 30 June, I left my permanent job in HR to become fully self-employed (well, employed by Ausome Charlie Ltd). This year on 1 July, I have refused to renew my CIPD membership.
There are still too many employees, with protected characteristics and intersections of characteristics, who are not appropriately supported and not empowered to thrive in their roles as their authentic selves.
There are still too many employers who think that doing the bare minimum to meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 is enough. It is not enough, and we need more, and the EqA sets the bar low!
There are still too many employers in the UK who think you need a formal diagnosis to be protected under the disability characteristic in the Equality Act 2010, or to apply for an Access to Work grant (you don’t, and you don’t).
There are still too many employers who respond to allegations of discrimination by negotiating settlement agreements with confidentiality clauses, rather than tackling the discrimination, not learning from their mistakes, not taking accountability, hiding the true extent of the problem.
Neurodiversity inclusion and disability inclusion are not on the agenda outside of the awareness days, weeks and months, for too many employers, HR leaders, and CIPD conferences.
Maybe HR needs to evolve!
Ausome Charlie 