The Equality Act, which will come into force in October 2010, replaces the previously known Equality Bill. It has amalgamated previous legislation such as the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Race Relations Act to create an ‘all-singing, all-dancing’ Act which ensures consistency in the workplace.
However, what will the changes mean to you and your business?
Fundamentally, not a huge amount has changed from previous law that you may have implemented, however there are some additions which may be necessary to include in your policies and procedures.
Taken from the ACAS guide (a useful point of reference for a more detailed outline of the Act), here are some of the new additions:
- Associative Discrimination has been introduced to cover age, disability, gender reassignment and sex and it describes discrimination against someone because the others think they possess one of those protected characteristics.
- Harassment by a third party, where employers may become liable rather than an individual; now covers age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation.
- Pre-employment health checks – the new legislation now limits when you can ask health-related questions before you offer an individual a job. However, once you have offered someone a job, you are able to ask appropriate questions that determine their health.
- Equal pay – the Act now instructs that a claim can be made of direct pay discrimination when no comparator can be found.
The Equality Act should not be anything new to organisations, however, it is important to do research into the changes to ensure that the policies and procedures are adapted accordingly and that all requirements are met.
Hannah Baker-Saadat
Hannah is an HR professional within the support services industry. She is CIPD qualified with a Masters in Personnel Development. She has 3 years of generalist HR experience. You can contact her at handyhrehelp@googlemail.com
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