Australia
In Australia, anti-discrimination legislation is in place at both a state and federal level, prohibiting direct and indirect discrimination in the workplace based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, pregnancy and breastfeeding, marital status, family responsibilities, age, race and disability discrimination and harassment. In some jurisdictions there are also laws prohibiting religious discrimination.
Law changes in December 2022 introduced a positive duty for employers to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace, as well as new prohibitions on different types of sexual harassment. Australian safety and human rights regulators have been given increased powers to enforce compliance with these laws.
Employers are also required to treat psychosocial hazards as a safety issue, meaning sexual harassment and sex discrimination must now be treated and mitigated by employers in the same way as physical workplace safety hazards.
The ‘right to disconnect’ recently became law and will take effect in August 2024. The new law gives employees the right to refuse to do work outside ordinary hours and considers family and carer responsibilities, among other things.
Mainland China
In China, the principle that all employees should be free from discrimination based on their nationality, region of birth, race, sex, or religious belief, is upheld in employment legislation as well as separate legislation specific to a variety of sectors. These laws also cover the promotion of equal rights for women and people with disabilities.
People from certain groups, such as those with infectious pathogen, those recovering from drug addiction, those retired from military services, and those from rural areas, are also expected to receive equal treatment from their employers. In addition, despite not being recognised as a distinct group under current legislation, the LGBTIQ+ community are also expected to be treated equally by their employers.
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR)
In Hong Kong SAR, there are laws in place protecting employees from discrimination based on sex, disability, family status – which relates to responsibility for the care of an immediate family member – and race. They are the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap 480), Disability Discrimination Ordinance (Cap 487), Family Status Discrimination Ordinance (Cap 527), and the Race Discrimination Ordinance (Cap 602).
There is currently no legislation in place specifically preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation, however, some discrimination claims relating to sexual orientation may be covered by the Sex Discrimination Ordinance. There is a Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal decision holding that a legislation provision amounting to sexual orientation discrimination is unconstitutional.
Singapore
Singapore has multiple policies and regulations supporting DEI in the workplace.
Firstly, all employers in Singapore are expected to adhere to the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices, which are intended to uphold principles of fair and merit-based employment. While the guidelines are not law, employers are strongly encouraged to abide by them as non-compliance could result in enforcement actions from the Singapore regulators.
The new Workplace Fairness Legislation (WFL) has also been announced and is expected to be passed in the second half of 2024. Expected to work alongside the guidelines, the WFL is intended to support workplace policies that make organisations more inclusive and promote employment opportunities for certain vulnerable groups that need more support, such as seniors and people with disabilities.
The WFL is expected to include prohibitions against workplace discrimination based on age, nationality, sex, marital status, pregnancy status, caregiving responsibilities, race, religion, language, disability and mental health conditions, and cover all stages of employment, from recruitment to dismissal.