The Coalition Government has confirmed that it will be implementing The Equality Act with effect from October.

The Equality Act, passed in the final days of the Labour Government, combines nine independent pieces of anti-discrimination legislation such as disability, gender, age, sexual orientation and religion in to one piece of legislation. But it is more than a bit of consolidation. As the Government Equality Office says: ‘The Act is intended to provide a new cross-cutting legislative framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all; to update, simplify and strengthen the previous legislation; and to deliver a simple, modern and accessible framework of discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society.’

Now that the Government’s intentions are finally clear we will be giving an update on the implications of the Act for employers in our next newsletter.

However, some headlines are:

• More protection will be offered to certain groups of people that were previously only partially covered by the old laws. For instance, the new law will enable individuals to demonstrate the extent of their difficulties with performing day-to-day activities, in line with a revised test to determine disability.
• The definition of indirect discrimination is being harmonised across all types of discrimination, and new forms of potential discrimination - indirect disability discrimination and discrimination arising from disability – are being introduced.
• The Act will confront the stigma that disabled job-seekers frequently encounter by preventing employers from asking questions about disability and health before a job offer is made. This will go some way to ease the burden of deciding whether or not to reveal their condition so there is no pressure to lie on application forms.
• The requirement for a comparator in discrimination cases will be removed.
• More value will be placed on employment tribunals as they have the ability to make recommendations that benefit other members of the workforce, as well as the person who has made the claim. In light of this, it is evident that the new Act’s consistent framework will allow people to have better access to their rights.

Meanwhile, the Government has refused to outline its intentions for gender pay gap reporting.

Have a question and can’t wait for our update? Please call your HR Advantage consultant or Kara on 01494 451681, e-mail kara@hradvantage.co.uk

It is also worth remembering that the new Act is not just about employment; it also applies to the provision of services.