Invisible racial discrimination in the UK hotel industry Essay

Invisible racial discrimination in the UK hotel industry - Essay Example Among many other calamities, this has resulted in increasingly strict immigration conditions. Although some initiatives have been taken to upgrade the relations with the minorities, the racial discrimination inherent in the social mindset and practices persists. â€Å"The U.K. has one of the highest levels of racially-motivated violence and harassment in Western Europe, and the  problem is getting worse.† (Human Rights, 1997 cited in Shah, 2010). This paper discusses the experience of ethnic minority workers in the hotel and catering industry. Research provides evidence of racism faced by the ethnic minority in Britain in various walks of life in general and the hotel and catering industry in particular. The hotel and restaurant industry is known for its harsh working environment, specifically for the employees who are from ethnic minorities or migrant community, in terms of oral contracts, minimal training, long working hours, late-night working, unpaid overtime, unpaid official leave, delayed salary payments, discriminated recruitment, biased promotions, job insecurity, bullying, insult and abuse. Racism, as practiced in the British society, can take both visible and invisible forms. â€Å"Indirect discrimination is where there is a requirement, condition, provision, criterion or practice which has an adverse impact on  one group disproportionately.   However, such discrimination is not unlawful if it can be justified by the employer.† (PJH Law, 2009). Indirect discrimination can be regarded as invisible racism. It occurs as a result of regulations or practices which have a detrimental effect on people from a certain race. One example of invisible racism is the condition by a hotel HR department to hire only those employees residing within a one-mile radius with the hotel in the center, knowing that the majority of ethnic minority resides outside the defined limits, indirectly avoiding applications from the ethnic