Post by carly on Dec 10, 2010 15:04:44 GMT
The majority of the Equality Act provisions were introduced from October 2010 with the rest due to be phased in over 2010-13.
It is there to protect the same groups that were protected by existing equality legislation - age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity - but extends some protections to groups not previously covered, and also strengthens particular aspects of equality law.
The Equality Act 2010 aims to protect disabled people and prevent disability discrimination. It provides legal rights for disabled people in the areas of:
•employment
•education
•access to goods, services and facilities including larger private clubs and land based transport services
•buying and renting land or property
•functions of public bodies, for example the issuing of licenses.
The key changes affect the following areas:
•Extension of employment tribunal powers - Introducing new powers for employment tribunals to make recommendations which benefit the wider workforce.
•Pre-employment health - Making it more difficult for disabled people to be unfairly screened out when applying for jobs, by restricting the circumstances in which employers can ask job applicants questions about disability or health.
•Positive action - Harmonising provisions allowing voluntary positive action.
•Equal pay – Allowing claims for direct gender pay discrimination where there is no actual comparator.
•Pay secrecy – pay secrecy clauses are now unenforceable
The act also makes explicit the concept of ‘dual discrimination’, where someone may be discriminated against or treated unfairly on the basis of a combination of two or the protected characteristics.
The Equality Act also provides rights for people not to be directly discriminated against or harassed because they have an association with a disabled person. This can apply to a carer or parent of a disabled person. In addition, people must not be directly discriminated against or harassed because they are wrongly perceived to be disabled.
More information about the Equality Act can be found on the Government Equalities Office website www.equalities.gov.uk
It is there to protect the same groups that were protected by existing equality legislation - age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity - but extends some protections to groups not previously covered, and also strengthens particular aspects of equality law.
The Equality Act 2010 aims to protect disabled people and prevent disability discrimination. It provides legal rights for disabled people in the areas of:
•employment
•education
•access to goods, services and facilities including larger private clubs and land based transport services
•buying and renting land or property
•functions of public bodies, for example the issuing of licenses.
The key changes affect the following areas:
•Extension of employment tribunal powers - Introducing new powers for employment tribunals to make recommendations which benefit the wider workforce.
•Pre-employment health - Making it more difficult for disabled people to be unfairly screened out when applying for jobs, by restricting the circumstances in which employers can ask job applicants questions about disability or health.
•Positive action - Harmonising provisions allowing voluntary positive action.
•Equal pay – Allowing claims for direct gender pay discrimination where there is no actual comparator.
•Pay secrecy – pay secrecy clauses are now unenforceable
The act also makes explicit the concept of ‘dual discrimination’, where someone may be discriminated against or treated unfairly on the basis of a combination of two or the protected characteristics.
The Equality Act also provides rights for people not to be directly discriminated against or harassed because they have an association with a disabled person. This can apply to a carer or parent of a disabled person. In addition, people must not be directly discriminated against or harassed because they are wrongly perceived to be disabled.
More information about the Equality Act can be found on the Government Equalities Office website www.equalities.gov.uk