Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce hosted a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) seminar about the potential implications for businesses of new equality legislation. Leading Advocate Caren Pegg, a Partner at Appleby specialising in employment, litigation and insolvency, explained what is likely to be in store for Manx businesses when the Equality Act is introduced. Caren is also Chair of Chamber’s Employment and Training Committee, and a member of the Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce Council.
An Equality Bill is being drafted to look at introducing legislation to address all issues relating to discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, and gender reassignment. A consultation document on the Bill will be published in due course, but it’s already clear that an Equality Act is likely to have many implications for employers. The seminar – which was held at the Claremont Hotel on July 14 – was attended by 55 Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce members and focused on how equality legislation is likely to affect employers, and at what they can do to be prepared for all kinds of discrimination issues. Chamber hosts regular CPD seminars and workshops to provide employers with valuable insights from leading experts on matters which affect all business sectors on the Island. The equality event was the sixth CPD seminar this year. All of the events are only open to Chamber members. Jane Dellar, Chief Executive of the Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce, thanked Caren Pegg for the presentation and commented:
“Caren has been named as a leader in her field by Chambers Europe every year from 2008 to 2013 and is widely regarded as one of the leading employment practitioners in the market. Her presentation was fascinating and highlighted many potential impacts of equality legislation which employers would be unlikely to consider without the benefit of such expertise. The purpose of our CPD seminars is to allow members, and particularly those from small businesses which may not have the resources to consult such expertise on all matters which affect them, to have access to leading specialists with knowledge and experience on a range of topical issues. This latest seminar once again shows the value of Chamber membership, and we are very grateful to Caren for taking the time to support our series of CPD seminars. We are taking a break for the rest of the summer, but are already planning more CPD seminars in the autumn and winter.”
For more information about the CPD events, or how to become a member of Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce, go to www.iomchamber.org.im or call 674941.
Photo - Leading Advocate Caren Pegg speaking at the Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce CPD seminar held at the Claremont Hotel.
