The Brussels employment office, Actiris, has launched a training course and a manual aimed at teaching its staff, partners and recruiters to manage discriminatory requests from prospective employers.
Baptised “Discrino”, the new tool proposes a three-phased response to cases of discrimination.
The training programme and manual were designed in the first place for recruiters. However, Actiris noted that a number of its own consultants and partners, such as social service centres (CPAS), local missions and temporary employment agencies, were regularly confronted with discriminatory requests from employers such as “no seniors” or “no women”.
“That still happens too often,” said an Actiris spokesman. The figures compiled by the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Against Racial Discrimination, UNIA, reflect an increase “but we are certain there is a phenomenon of under-reporting,” he added. “Sometimes, someone seeks an employee who is motivated and feels it must be a young person.”
The Discrino training and guide are free of charge. They propose an adapted manner, in three phases, of reacting to situations of discrimination.
The first step is to determine whether the employer is discriminating on the basis of any of the 19 criteria protected by the law, for example by refusing candidates who are seniors.
The next step is trying to identify as much as possible the underlying obstacles for the employer, and the final one is to respond suitably to him (her) based on the many argumentation techniques available.
Three training programmes are already set for November.
The Brussels Times
