Discrimination legislation costs (FOI)

Request

How much money has been spent on the enactment and enforcement of the Discrimination (Jersey) Law 2013 and subsequent amendments for Age, Sex Discrimination and Disability.

Response

The information available shows a total spend on work to develop, enact and enforce the Discrimination (Jersey) Law 2013 is £253,400.

Policy development and enactment

The Social Security Department started work on the development of the draft legislation in 2012. A total sum of £253,400 has been spent during the period January 2012 to August 2019. This includes the spend in relation to the development of the initial legislation (with the characteristic of race) and for the development of each of the protected characteristics that followed (sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy / maternity, age and disability) -

• training for the Minister, officers and advisory bodies

• expert advice in development of Ministerial briefings, consultation papers and policy proposals

• support for public consultation meetings, including venue and refreshments

• briefings for States Members on the draft legislation, including venue and refreshments

• published guidance materials, including the disability accessibility guide

• sign language translation of the disability discrimination consultation

• free JACS public training courses prior to each of the new characteristics being included

• training on new legislation for all Employment and Discrimination Tribunal members

• recruitment and training for a panel of Tribunal lay members to deal with non-employment related discrimination complaints

• annual grant to Citizen’s Advice Jersey to provide an advisory service and free mediation service (see below)

Citizens Advice Jersey (CAJ)

The CAJ promotes awareness of the law and provides independent advice and guidance on queries and complaints relating to discrimination ‘not in employment’, with a view to resolving disputes where possible. Tribunal complaints relating to discrimination ‘not in employment’ are automatically referred to CAJ by the Tribunal and CAJ arranges mediation sessions for customers where appropriate. Discrimination ‘not in employment’ includes discrimination in education, the provision of goods, services and facilities, access to and use of public premises, and the disposal or management of premises. An annual grant in respect of this service has been provided to CAJ since 2014. This is £12,000 in 2019 (included in the £253,400 figure).

Jersey Advisory and Conciliation Service (JACS)

The JACS provides a separate service in relation to employment matters, including discrimination in employment and recruitment. JACS provides advice, guidance, training, conciliation and arbitration services. JACS receives an annual grant, which was £354,900 for 2019. This is not included in the £253,400 figure, as it is not possible to separately identify the proportion of costs that relate only to the Discrimination Law, as employment and discrimination issues referred to JACS are usually combined.

Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal (JEDT)

The JEDT Annual Report for 2018 states that the Tribunal received 43 discrimination claims during 2018, with work-related disputes accounting for the majority of those claims.

The staff and facilities of the Tribunal Service support all the different Tribunals which are within the remit of the service - Employment and Discrimination, Mental Health Review, Planning, Social Security, Health and Safety and Charity. Information is not held separately in records of all the specific costs which are incurred by Tribunals under the Discrimination (Jersey) Law 2013. The Tribunal Service is therefore unable to provide any specific costings for the discrimination element and so these costs are not included in the £253,400 figure.