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The Equality Act was passed into law in 2010 and sets out and ensures that employers and employees work in fair environment. The act requires that all employees be treated equally regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity and marriage and civil partnership.
The aim of this act was to consolidate all anti-discrimination laws into one act, making the legislation easier to understand and strengthening an individual’s protection. The act replaced previous legislation such as the Race Relations Act 1976, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. It also replaced many of the provisions within the Equal Pay Act 1970.
The act not only extends to employees, but also protects you from discrimination by businesses and organisations, health and care providers, estate agents and housing associations, schools and education providers, transport services and other public bodies.
The Equality Bill was set out in the Labour Party’s 2005 election manifesto. The act was drafted under the guidance of Harriet Harman and led by the Government Equalities Office.
To find out more about the Equality Act and your rights, visit the Acas website. You can also visit the government website for more information.
Read our latest articles, news and advice on discrimination and the Equality Act
Celebrating 20 years since the Disability Discrimination Act
November marked the twentieth anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) becoming law in Britain. The DDA came as a result of prolonged campaigning and protesting from thousands of disabled people, throughout the 1990s. Many took to the streets to protest against society’s view that disabled people were helpless. Some blocked roads with their wheelchairs, while others handcuffed themselves to buses.
Pregnancy and maternity related discrimination
This is a very hot topic at the moment with us seeing lots of litigation in all areas. We have recently acted successfully against a large company who, would you believe specified to the recruitment agency that it did not want to interview young women who might get pregnant. Needless to say they paid a hefty price at a London Employment Tribunal when this came to light in the proceedings.
Age Discrimination – Your Rights
We asked Henry Doswell, Solicitor to provide our members with a summary of employment law in respect to Age Discrimination. The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 impose obligations on employers, providers of vocational training, trade unions, professional associations, trustees/managers of occupational pension schemes and partnerships not to discriminate on the grounds of age.
Bullying is still rife in the workplace, but what are your rights?
In the UK it has been reported that over 60% of employees have witnessed or been a victim of bullying behaviour in the workplace. Of those bullied, 43% said they felt intimidated, with around 25% saying they had been shouted at. A shocking 20% had reported having items thrown at them! It’s clear from these statistics that workplace bullying is still a major issue in the UK.
