British companies may need to hire ‘thought police’ under new laws
Under new laws proposed by British Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, companies may be pressured to hire employees to police their coworkers’ conversations.
The laws would make businesses liable for the “harmful behavior” of their employees, which includes bullying, harassment, and discrimination. If an employer fails to take all reasonable steps to prevent such behavior, they may be exposed to legal action.
Critics say this is likely to result in firms hiring diversity officers to monitor office banter and water cooler talk. The Daily Mail reports that such “banter police” are already waiting in the wings. Inclusive Employers, a consulting company that trains businesses to be DEI-compliant, warns: “Banter, when unchecked, can escalate into harmful behaviour, including bullying, harassment, and discrimination... Harmless banter can quickly cross the line and lead to more serious issues.”
If passed, these laws would scuttle efforts by the Right-wing Tory Party to slash government spending on DEI.
“Pressuring private firms to hire diversity officers to pursue woke agendas has so far gone under the radar – but it will be the final nail in the coffin for many,” warned Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith. “Innocent office banter will be spied on by wokerati thought police. These banter tsars will have a chilling effect in workplaces. We can already see in Rayner’s own Whitehall department how taxpayers are footing the bill for this divisive political agenda,” Griffith added.
The state of free speech in the UK
The UK’s crackdown on free speech has become so aggressive that Trump officials in April considered granting asylum to British refugees. British taxpayers have been arrested and jailed for posting social media content critical of gender ideology, Islam, migrants, and women. Others have been arrested for thinking prayerful thoughts near abortion facilities. The Communications Act of 2003 criminalizes any electronic “message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene, or menacing character.” The Online Safety Act of 2023, set to take effect this year, makes it an offense to post “harmful content” or false information that could cause “non-trivial psychological harm” to users.
UK officials have been open about targeting non-citizens for free speech. Last year, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “We will throw the full force of the law at people. And whether you’re in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online, we will come after you.” When a reporter asked Crowley whether billionaire Elon Musk would be guilty of a crime for posting “offensive” social media content from the US, Crowley responded: “You can be guilty of offenses of incitement, of stirring up racial hatred, there are numerous terrorist offenses regarding the publishing of material.” Prime Minister Keir Starmer threatened social media users saying: “I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder whether directly or those whipping up this action online.”
British police spend an estimated 60,000 hours a year investigating reports of non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs), according to a study last year. While not criminal offenses, NCHIs are incidents where someone belonging to a protected class feels that they were treated with hostility. An NCHI may be reported to police if a person claims that someone else treated them with ill will, spite, contempt, prejudice, unfriendliness, antagonism, resentment, or dislike based on their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or transgender identity.
