The new Equality Act - a brief guide

The new Equality Act came into force on October 1st 2010. The main provisions of the Act are:

• Protection against direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation
• Clarification of protected characteristics – these are the grounds on which discrimination can occur. This now includes: Age, Disability, Gender reassignment, Marriage & civil partnerships, Pregnancy & maternity, Race, Religion or belief, Sex and Sexual orientation.
• Changing the definition of gender reassignment to include an individual who has started, proposes to start, or has completed a process to change his or her gender. The individual does not need to be under medical supervision to be protected.
• Associative & perceptive discrimination
  Associative discrimination means discriminating against individuals who associate with an individual with a protected characteristic. E.G. an employee who cares for a disabled relative.
  Perceptive discrimination means discriminating again individuals who it is thought or perceived to have a protected characteristic.
• New concept of ‘discrimination’ arising from disability
• Ban on pre-employment health questionnaires
• Extended protection from third party harassment, to all protected characteristics
• Making secrecy clauses unenforceable
  

What do you need to do as an employer?

• Review your equal opportunities policy
• Review your application form
• Ensure that your managers and employees are aware of the changes.
• Reduce risk of discrimination in recruitment e.g., have clear job descriptions; ensure that interview questions are related to job/skills.
• Do not issue any further pre-employment health questionnaires.
• Take action if an employee alerts you to 3rd party harassment.
• Ensure that any secrecy clauses are removed from contracts of employment.