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Graduate denied post for being white
A university graduate was denied a council post because he is white.
Kieron Keenan was told he could not apply for a research post at Brighton Museum because he is not of African, Afro/Caribbean, Asian or Chinese descent.
Employer Brighton and Hove City Council applied part of the Race Relations Act to exclude white people from applying for the job in order to help fill quotas of ethnic minority employees.
The council set a target that 4.5 per cent of its 8,000 workers would be from ethnic minorities by the end of March 2006 but only achieved 3.6 per cent.
Mr Keenan, 23, said: "It's astonishing. In order to be seen to be less discriminatory towards ethnic groups the council has used a law which is blatantly discriminatory against another ethnic group.
"I am perfectly qualified to do the job but I am barred by the colour of my skin."
The Race Relations Act allows employers to exclude white people from jobs where there has been a perceived shortage of ethnic minority people in that type of work for 12 months.
Last month the council's cross-party equalities forum urged the authority to take urgent steps to improve the diversity of its workforce and improve the experiences of staff from minority groups.
The forum was set up last year following a report by the Brighton and Hove Racial Harassment Forum, which said institutional racism at the council was hindering its work in reducing racist incidents.
Mr Keenan, of Elizabeth Place, Lancing, was prevented from applying for a £9,000-a-year trainee museum assistant post. He had recently graduated with a history degree from University College Chichester.
Bert Williams, who runs Brighton and Hove Black History Project, said: "This is an easy way out for the council. It is panicking because it has been accused of being institutionally racist.
"Yes, the council must have a more representative workforce but this is not the way it should be doing it because it's another form of discrimination."
A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said the job was a traineeship offered under what employers call "positive action," where there are a shortage of ethnic minority workers.
He added: "It is lawful to offer training only for people from a certain racial group or to encourage people from that racial group to apply."
City council leader Simon Burgess said: "This is a way of us giving positive trainee work to someone in a group which is under-represented at the council which is different from barring certain types of races applying for a full time post."
Councillor Paul Elgood, chairman of the city's Equality Forum, said: "I have every sympathy for this applicant.
"The tragedy is that this kind of step has become necessary because of a long-term failing of the council to achieve a balanced workforce."
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Mind you, if this is a true story doesn't B & H Council have a case to answer ? This is a race realtions board case isn't ?
A university graduate was denied a council post because he is white.
Kieron Keenan was told he could not apply for a research post at Brighton Museum because he is not of African, Afro/Caribbean, Asian or Chinese descent.
Employer Brighton and Hove City Council applied part of the Race Relations Act to exclude white people from applying for the job in order to help fill quotas of ethnic minority employees.
The council set a target that 4.5 per cent of its 8,000 workers would be from ethnic minorities by the end of March 2006 but only achieved 3.6 per cent.
Mr Keenan, 23, said: "It's astonishing. In order to be seen to be less discriminatory towards ethnic groups the council has used a law which is blatantly discriminatory against another ethnic group.
"I am perfectly qualified to do the job but I am barred by the colour of my skin."
The Race Relations Act allows employers to exclude white people from jobs where there has been a perceived shortage of ethnic minority people in that type of work for 12 months.
Last month the council's cross-party equalities forum urged the authority to take urgent steps to improve the diversity of its workforce and improve the experiences of staff from minority groups.
The forum was set up last year following a report by the Brighton and Hove Racial Harassment Forum, which said institutional racism at the council was hindering its work in reducing racist incidents.
Mr Keenan, of Elizabeth Place, Lancing, was prevented from applying for a £9,000-a-year trainee museum assistant post. He had recently graduated with a history degree from University College Chichester.
Bert Williams, who runs Brighton and Hove Black History Project, said: "This is an easy way out for the council. It is panicking because it has been accused of being institutionally racist.
"Yes, the council must have a more representative workforce but this is not the way it should be doing it because it's another form of discrimination."
A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said the job was a traineeship offered under what employers call "positive action," where there are a shortage of ethnic minority workers.
He added: "It is lawful to offer training only for people from a certain racial group or to encourage people from that racial group to apply."
City council leader Simon Burgess said: "This is a way of us giving positive trainee work to someone in a group which is under-represented at the council which is different from barring certain types of races applying for a full time post."
Councillor Paul Elgood, chairman of the city's Equality Forum, said: "I have every sympathy for this applicant.
"The tragedy is that this kind of step has become necessary because of a long-term failing of the council to achieve a balanced workforce."
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Mind you, if this is a true story doesn't B & H Council have a case to answer ? This is a race realtions board case isn't ?
