The Equality Act came in to effect in October 2010. Its main purpose was to consolidate and simplify the nine anti-discrimination acts already in place as well as strengthening the law in some areas.

Most of the law has remained the same; however there are a few significant changes:

Protected Characteristics

The key strands of age, religion or belief, disability, race, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment (a new definition under the act), marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity are now known as Protected Characteristics.

Types of Discrimination

There are now seven different types of discrimination:

Direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, victimisation and harassment remain. However, direct discrimination and indirect discrimination have been extended to cover disability, sex and gender reassignment. With victimisation and harassment, the victim now just needs to prove that they have been treated badly.

Associative discrimination is discrimination through direct discrimination against someone with a protective characteristic (i.e. a worker overlooked for a promotion because they have a disabled child who the employer believes will take up the worker’s time).

Harassment by a third party is where an employee or member of the public is harassed by someone not directly employed by the company such as a contractor.

Discrimination by perception is discrimination against someone who is believed to have a protected characteristic, even if they in fact don’t. Disability related discrimination is no longer listed as a distinct type of discrimination.

Disability

The test determining disability has changed under the act to include a person who has difficulty carrying out their day-to-day work, rather than just a particular impairment affecting a certain ability such as hearing or eyesight.

Employers are generally no longer able to ask questions about health or a disability before offering a job.

Employment

Employees are now free to discuss their salary with each other and trade union representatives.

Carers

Associative discrimination type is particularly pertinent for carers. Furthermore, direct discrimination and harassment of a carer because they care for a disabled person are now banned when the carer shops for goods or services and when they use public facilities.

Transexuals

Under the act, a transexual person no longer has to show that they are under medical supervision to qualify for protection from discrimination.

Clubs and associations

Discrimination laws for clubs member selection, have now been extended to include sex, religion or belief, the fact that you are a transexual or if you have a baby or are pregnant.

Charities

Charities which only benefit members of the same religion, racial group or sexual orientation must now demonstrate that they are doing so in a fair, balanced and reasonable way with a legitimate objective in mind.

Breast feeding

The act makes it unlawful for someone breast feeding to receive less favourable treatment whilst receiving services. For example a breast feeding mother could not be asked to leave a public cafe.

Dual Discrimination

Claims can now be made for ‘dual discrimination’, where two protected characteristics have been discriminated against. Previously each discrimination would have been considered separately.

The full act can be found at:  http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents

I have interviewed hundreds of staff over the years and at each interview the question is asked… what is equal opportunity? 90% will still answer “treating everyone the same.” But can equality be achieved by treating everyone the same?
Ponder for a minute and complete the following task:

• Look over your desk
• Look to your colleagues desk
• Compare the difference in stationary, tidiness, IT, photos, memory prompts, chocolate bars tissues and gadgets?
• Ask yourself are they different?

Each one of us typically has different needs and working patterns that enable us to be effective. Equality and diversity is not about treating everyone the same, rather it is about enabling people to achieve the same opportunities. Removing barriers to achievement and putting mechanisms in place to support individuals with specific needs is what equality of opportunity is all about.

Are all things really equal in your workplace? Is it wise to take a deeper look? What could be gained?

By avoiding the issue of whether your organisation is really inclusive you could be:

A. Putting your head in the sand
B. Failing to celebrate success
C. Failing to get the best out of your staff

There is no limit to the award for compensation if discrimination in the workplace is proven.

Loss of reputation could damage sales and ruin chances of gaining contracts in a competitive market place.

Give your organisation an equality health check. It is worth the effort and will produce results. These simple steps will help:

• Ensure your staff have been trained to understand their personal obligation to abide by equality law and implement it in their working practice
• Analyse trends with staff to identify areas of concern and opportunities for improvement. This may include monitoring staff recruitment, retention, training and promotion by age, disability, gender and race.
• Seek staff views on equality and diversity
• Ensure all grievances and concerns are taken seriously and acted upon
• Identify the support you give to staff and customers with a specific need and promote this.

Ensure your staff have been trained to understand their personal obligation to abide by equality law and implement it in their working practice

A staff team that feels valued will likely show greater loyalty, work harder and spread the good reputation to stakeholders.

Equality and diversity is worth the effort, it just needs time, commitment and a team approach.

Opps specialises in equality and diversity. Contact us to see how we can support your organisation to achieve greater success.