DISCRIMINATION AGAINST APPLICANTS AND EMPLOYEES (Hansard, 18 June 1975)

§ Mr. John Fraser
I beg to move Amendment No. 14, in page 3, line 33 leave out "which is available".
Clause 6 at present makes unlawful, discrimination by an employer in relation to employment by him, which is available at an establishment in Great Britain. The words "which is available" are unnecessarily restrictive and their deletion will ensure that an act of discrimination against a person will not escape the terms of the Bill on the technical ground that it relates to employment that was not available at the time the act was committed.

§ Mr. Ronald Bell
I ask for clarification, because in my view this is an extraordinary situation. Is the Minister saying that someone can be guilty of discrimination for not giving a person a job that does not exist at the time?

§ Mr. Fraser
Perhaps I can give an example from my own profession. A solicitor employs articled clerks, but articles are available perhaps only once 1501 a year. It may be that people write to the solicitor asking to be considered, and he may reject all the female applications but keep a list of the male applications. The post of an articled clerk is not available at the time the discriminatory act takes place, but it will become available in the future. Leaving the words in could have a restrictive effect on the Bill. I hope that that is an adequate explanation.

§ Mr. Ronald Bell
It does not make it any more acceptable to me. It means that an employer is guilty of an offence, even though he has no vacancy for an articled clerk, because he decides to throw away certain applications. He is guilty of a discriminatory offence because he has thrown away applications which relate to a vacancy which does not exist at the time but which may exist in the future.

§ Mr. Fraser
I shall try to make the position clear. Sometimes it is a mistake to be brief. Clause 6 does not create an unlawful act. It is the application of Clauses 1 and 3 to situations covered by subsequent parts of the Bill. There needs to be a combination of discrimination, as defined in Clauses 1 and 3, applied to situations which are described in the later part of the Bill. I hope that that answer amplifies my previous answer and satisfies the hon. and learned Gentleman.