The Equality Act 2010 received Royal Assent on 8 April. The Act aims to simplify and strengthen discrimination law, placing new duties on certain public bodies. Many sections of the Act have yet to come into operation and will be brought into force as appointed by a commencement order.
What is the purpose of the Act? Currently, anti-discrimination law is contained in more than nine different statutes, in addition to several European Directives and other documents. The Equality Act aims to consolidate this existing anti-discrimination legislation into one statute to ensure consistency in the manner in which protected characteristics (such as race, sex, etc) are defined. Additionally, it strengthens discrimination law by broadening the circumstances in which a person is protected from discrimination.
What changes will be made by the new Act? The Act makes some substantial changes to the law in this area. It recognises and protects against combined discrimination. This is when someone is discriminated against on the basis of two characteristics, such as age and sex. In addition, it imposes new duties on certain public bodies to consider socio-economic disadvantage when making strategic decisions. Specific public authorities must also have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and advance equality when carrying out their functions.
The Act also allows employment tribunals to make recommendations to employers as to how to improve their practices.
What impact will the Act have on children and young people? Part 6 of the Act makes it unlawful for education bodies to discriminate against, harass or victimise school pupils, students or those applying for a place at either a school or university. This does not, however, apply to discrimination or harassment of pupils due to their age or because they are married or in a civil partnership. This may be surprising, but is in place to ensure that schools may legitimately treat different year groups in varying, age-appropriate manners. An example of this would be allowing older children to have more privileges. This part of the Act does, however, extend the protection offered to pupils and applicants who have undergone treatment for gender reassignment or who are pregnant or recently had a child.
Local authorities in England and Wales will have to prepare an accessibility strategy for all schools for which they are the responsible body to improve accessibility for disabled children by requiring schools to provide auxiliary aids and services for pupils.
Will the Act have an impact on parents and carers? The Act offers clearer protection against pregnancy and maternity discrimination. It prohibits discrimination against women who are pregnant or have recently given birth (26 weeks following birth) in both work and non-work situations. Section 13 expressly prohibits discrimination against breastfeeding mothers.
Direct discrimination is defined in the Act in such a way as to prohibit discrimination against those associated with someone with a protected characteristic. An example of this would be where someone caring for a disabled person receives less favourable treatment because of their association with that person. In this instance, the carer would also be protected against discrimination.
When will the Act come into force? The majority of the Act has not yet come into force. A considerable amount of Part 16 "General and Miscellaneous" provisions came into force on the 8 April 2010. Section 186(2) on rail vehicle accessibility is also in force. It is envisaged that the remainder of the Act's provisions will come into force in October 2010.
