Director of Policy FSB Northern Ireland

1. Business &
Human Rights
Forum
Small Businesses and Human Rights
A presentation by Grace Peacock

2. Contribution of Small Businesses to Northern Ireland (2015) FSB/Ulster Business School
Small Businesses
Small Businesses make up largest
contribution of GVA, Turnover and
Employment in Northern Ireland.
•Over 118,000 SMEs in Northern
Ireland, making up 99% of private
sector.
•Over 19,500 (89%) of 22,000 jobs
projected to be created between 2014
and 2018, will be in SMEs.
•SMEs employ more people than
public sector and larger companies
combined.

3. Our Corporate Objectives
1. To be recognised as the most influential and
trusted business organisation
2. To value diversity and inclusion in everything
we do
3. To be fully representative of the whole UK
smaller business community
4. To provide the most valued package of
business benefits and services
5. To provide the most effective network for
smaller businesses across the UK

4. Small Businesses and
Human Rights
In order to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how
they address their adverse human rights impacts,
business enterprises should carry out human rights due
diligence. The process should include assessing actual
and potential human rights impacts, integrating and acting
upon the findings, tracking responses, and
communicating how impacts are addressed.”
Principle 17, UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

5. Regulations

6. Regulations
Where do I get advice?

7. Regulation
FSB recommendations:
•Publicity of new regulations and
standards in plain English, who it
applies to? what needs to be done?
and when?
•Regular reviews of regulatory system
– is any outdated, can there be a
streamlining?
•Single Business Regulation Hub for
all regulators.
•Business impact assessment
conducted by all regulators on each
regulation that is introduced.

8. Small Businesses and
Human Rights
‘Doing’ Human Rights would be the primary objective of
most SMEs.
However, communication is necessary.
Communicating human rights work improves public
relations, inspires other businesses and also provides
an opportunity for critical feedback

9. Small Businesses and
Human Rights
1. Often more responsible than larger companies but due to
budget, staffing and time constraints have not been able to
evidence their Human Rights contributions in the same
way.
2. Often, what larger companies recognise and record as
Human Rights measures, small businesses see as being
simply good practice.
3. Lack of legal expertise on staff and reluctance to increase
paperwork.
4. Recognise that Human Rights compliance is vital for
reputation amongst customers.

10. Over two thirds of small businesses in Northern Ireland pay the
living wage or above.
Small businesses happy to comply and most tend to before
compulsory. Argument is that in such cases, SMEs should be
given freedom to implement independently and without
additional paperwork.
Recent figures show increase in business confidence aligned
with increased staff pay in small businesses in Northern Ireland
demonstrating how staff are valued.

11. Employment – Victims of
Trafficking/Exploitation
Working with Home Office, PSNI, Border Agency and
DoJ to educate small business owners on differences
between migrant workers and trafficked workers, for
instance, is the employee’s Passport or documents held
by someone else?
Fits into overall work on organised crime, including
membership of Organised Crime Task Force (OCTF)

12. Procurement
Businesses competing for public
contracts may be required to
demonstrate their compliance with
specific legal duties in relation to
equality and human rights
Need to ensure measures are
presented in a way easily understood,
easy to communicate and minimum
paperwork.

13. Procurement
SMEs disadvantaged by barriers within procurement
process leaving them at a disadvantage in competing
for contracts
Some of issues highlighted:
High costs of tendering process
Late and disguised payment
Unfair qualifying criteria
Restrictive experience requirements
Third party accreditation requirements

14. Climate Change
“...Climate change has become a serious threat to even
the most basic fundamental human rights…It has even
become a threat to the very existence of some peoples…”
Ayeen Karunungan, human rights advocate, openDemocracy (UK)

15. Impacts of Climate Change on Business and Society:
•Damage facilities and properties, including businesses and
homes ( i.e. Recent flooding)
•Disrupt supply and distribution chains – local farmers who
supply to supermarket chains
•Threaten power supplies
•Jeopardise global food and water resources
•Economic devastation due to uncertainty to the marketplace –
increasing cost of doing business which is passed on to the
customer.
Climate Change

16. Climate Justice
FSB research revealed that 90% of small businesses,
throughout the UK, want to be more energy efficient.
FSB sits on ARENA Network (BITCNI) which works with
organisations to help them understand, measure and
reduce their impacts – benefiting their business and our
environment

17. Business & Human Rights
Forum
•Represent the Voice of Small Business
•Encourage members to communicate their Human Rights activity/case
studies/participation
•Signpost members to Human Rights Guides and information
•Share good practice
•Enable collaborative or innovative work
•Feed in research on SMEs

18. FOR MORE INFORMATION
http://www.fsb.org.uk
http://www.fsb.org.uk/ni
grace.peacock@fsb.org.uk