Last week the government launched the Equality Bill. The single bill will replace the 116 different pieces of equality legislation in force, including 35 acts, 52 statutory instruments, 13 codes of practice and 16 European Commission directives. It will apply to England, Wales and Scotland. One of the key objectives of the Bill is to make discrimination legislation easier to understand, thereby improving equality. The government will be consulting on various parts of the Bill over the summer and aims for the Bill to become law in Spring 2010.
What is in the Bill?
In short, the Equality Bill will strengthen our existing equality law by:
1. Introducing a new public sector duty to consider reducing socio-economic inequalities;
2. Putting a new Equality Duty on public bodies;
3. Using public procurement to improve equality;
4. Banning age discrimination outside the workplace;
5. Introducing gender pay reports;
6. Extending the scope to use positive action;
7. Strengthening the powers of employment tribunals;
8. Protecting carers from discrimination;
9. Offering new mothers stronger protection when breastfeeding;
10. Banning discrimination in private clubs; and
11. Strengthening protection from discrimination for disabled people.
The Bill also includes proposals addressing multiple discrimination.
Consultation on multiple discrimination
A separate consultation document has been released on the provision within the Equality Bill concerning multiple discrimination and the government is seeking responses from industry, business and other relevant parties, including individuals, who experience multiple discrimination. The document outlines and recognises how the law is currently failing, for example, someone who is experiencing racist sexism:
- “We want the law to provide appropriate protection against the harmful discrimination people experience. Currently, the law does not always provide a remedy for an individual who experiences multiple discrimination. In these circumstances, the person experiencing multiple discrimination has to bring separate claims in respect of each protected characteristic, such as his or her race or sex. However, this can cause problems in practice because it can be difficult, complicated and sometimes even impossible, to prove such claims. Moreover, they do not reflect the discrimination which actually occurred.
- For example, a black woman passed over for promotion by her employer because she is a black woman would have to bring separate claims of discrimination because of race and sex. However, she may not succeed in either claim if her employer can show that black men and white women are not discriminated against and therefore her treatment was not because of race or sex alone”.
The consultation document, Equality Bill: assessing the impact of a multiple discrimination provision (PDF format, 892K) proposes that multiple discrimination claims be limited to direct discrimination and combine no more than two protected characteristics from: age; disability; gender reassignment; race; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation.
In particular, the government is asking specific questions on the implications the proposed provisions may impose, particularly on employers as well as the next steps that can be taken. The closing date for receipt of comments is Friday 5 June, 2009.
- WRC will be providing a fuller briefing on the Equality Bill in due course. In the meantime, contact esther@wrc.org.uk for more information.