Petition · past parliament

We Demand Equality in Business. Provide Equal Opportunity For The Self Employed.

Rejected 17 signatures

What the petition asks

There are laws and free tribunals available to the employed. However Black and Asian self-employed are easy pickings for discrimination from regulators and unscrupulous competitors. The government should allow free access to an industrial tribunal service in discrimination cases for business owners.
Not having regulations to protect ethnic owned businesses is sending the message that society is happy to allow equality laws to keep minorities employed & sub servant. However if an ethnic minority attempts to go above their station there are regulators & unscrupulous competitor practices to keep them down. Industry Regulators need a clear code of practice for disciplinary procedures. So far Judicial reviews are risky and unaffordable, so ethnic minorities need access to a free tribunal service

Why it was rejected

It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.

Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action.

It is clear that you are concerned about discrimination against companies and businesses owned by ethnic minorities. We're not sure what action you would like the UK Government and Parliament to take. In particular, we're not sure what action you would like the Government to take to deal with your concerns about regulators and competitors.

The self-employed have the same legal rights as workers not to be discriminated against. Discrimination may relate to age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity. If you are concerned about discrimination, you could contact the Equality Advisory Support Service for advice. You can find out more about them here:

https://www.gov.uk/equality-advisory-support-service

You could start a new petition explaining clearly what you would like the Government or Parliament to do.

Timeline

24 Mar 2017 Petition opened for signatures
11 Apr 2017 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 17
Status Rejected
Rejected 11 Apr 2017

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.