31 July 2014
The Employment and Discrimination Tribunal is seeking to appoint a new panel of up to eight members who have knowledge or experience discrimination issues.
From 1 September this year, people in Jersey will be able to take a race discrimination complaint to the tribunal under the Discrimination (Jersey) Law 2013.
The Law will protect people against direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, victimisation and harassment on grounds of race. Race includes colour, nationality, ethnic origin and national origin, which includes being of Jersey origin.
The new tribunal members will deal with complaints of race discrimination that occur in areas other than the workplace, such as education, property letting and goods and services, such as in shops and restaurants.
The Social Security Minister, Senator Francis Le Gresley, said "We are hoping to attract a range of candidates with a wide variety of experiences and backgrounds to sit on this important new discrimination panel.
"We are looking for people with general knowledge or experience of equality and discrimination matters, as well as people who have a particular interest or expertise in relation to specific characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age and disability. The law will initially only protect against race discrimination but I expect the law to be extended so that these other characteristics are protected in the future.
"This is an exciting opportunity for anyone who is interested in discrimination issues and I would encourage anyone who thinks that they have something to offer the Tribunal to submit an application.”
Applicants will be required to demonstrate that they are able to reach sound decisions - irrespective of their personal feelings - and that they can work co-operatively with other tribunal members to reach decisions as part of a panel of three. Good listening and communication skills are also essential for a tribunal member.
Applicants must be willing to commit sufficient time to the tribunal which is estimated to be around 20 days each year. The successful candidates will receive training on the discrimination law and on tribunal skills.
The tribunal is also seeking to fill a vacancy for an employee side member. Applicants for that position should have knowledge or experience of employment matters from an employee’s perspective, for example, as a trade union or staff association representative. These tribunal side members hear complaints about employment matters such as unpaid wages and unfair dismissal, as well as complaints about discrimination in the workplace.
The closing date for applications is 28 August 2014.
Applicants can find full details on the Jobs in Jersey website or can contact the Employment and Discrimination Tribunal by email or telephone.
Email the Employment and Discrimination Tribunal
Call the Employment and Discrimination Tribunal on +44 (0)1534 447203
gov.je