Meeting our duties
The Equality Act 2010 became law from October 2010. It, for the first time, gives the UK a single Act of Parliament, requiring equal treatment in access to employment as well as private and public services, regardless of gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, religion and belief, and age.
The Equality Act aims to simplify the law by bringing together all nine pieces of anti-discrimination legislation. It replaces:
- Equal Pay Act 1970
- Sex Discrimination Act 1975
- Race Relations Act 1976
- Disability Discrimination Act 1995
- Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
- Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
- Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006.
The new public sector Equality Duty will replace the three separate duties that require public bodies to take into account gender, race and disability equality both as employers and when making policy decisions and delivering services. For further information about the new Act visit the Equality and Human Rights Commission website.
Our Single Equality Scheme will be updated in 2011 to reflect the requirements of the new legislation.
