Contracted out services and procurement

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Race equality toolkit

Contracted out services and procurement

Unfortunately, private contractors who perform the functions of public authorities are not directly governed by the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000.

The responsibility for meeting the general and specific duties remains with the ‘outsourcing’ parent public authority.

As such public authorities are under an obligation to ensure that private enterprises carrying out public functions comply with the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000.

This means that public authorities need to ensure that a private contractor acts in accordance with the Race Relations Amendment Act in terms of meeting the general duty at least.

It is good practice for public authorities to ask specific race equality questions and obtain tangible evidence that the contractor supports/promotes race equality in relation to the service that is to be outsourced prior to entering into contract.

It is good practice to insist authorities include race equality criteria when contract compliance indicators are being drafted.

Many public authorities are also the largest employers in local areas and their procurement practices (from purchasing to tendering) can influence the economic opportunities of black businesses.

It is good practices for public authorities to ensure that their procurement policies seek to eliminate race discrimination and promote equality of opportunity.

A checklist of issues to raise with employers about contractors

Is there a race equality scheme in place?
Does the work force of the contractor mirror the local population?
What arrangements are there for workforce monitoring?
What guarantees exist to ensure that culturally specific services can be provided?
What evidence is there demonstrating effective consultation with ethnic minority populations?
Do monitoring arrangements include monitoring of grievances, disciplinary action, performance appraisal, as well as job applicants, staff in post, promotions, reasons for leaving employment?
What strategies exist for addressing adverse monitoring findings?
What provisions are in place to ensure that staff are clear about their responsibilities under the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000?
Do management competencies include race equality issues?
Do staff understand what a racist incident is (as defined by the Lawrence inquiry)?
Do harassment policies specifically cover racial harassment?
What provisions exist for ensuring an assessment of race equality assessment throughout the term of a an outsourced function?