Equality Bill passed by Parliament

ECU welcomes the news that MPs approved the Equality Bill last night (06 April 2010).

There were fears that the Bill might have been watered down as a result of the dissolution of Parliament in the run-up to the general election. However, all major provisions within the Bill have remained intact. Amendments tabled in the House of Lords have been incorporated into the final version of the Bill.

Once it receives Royal Assent, the Bill will become the Equality Act 2010. Very few provisions within the Equality Act will be implemented immediately, as most need to be enacted by Ministers after the general election.

The majority of the new legislation is expected to come in to force in autumn this year, with the general public duty (a duty placed on public bodies including higher education institutions to proactively promote equality) more likely to follow from April 2011.

The Equality Act seeks to:

• Consolidate and streamline current anti-discrimination legislation
  Nine major pieces of primary anti-discrimination legislation and around 100 statutory instruments are being consolidated into one Act.
• Introduce a range of new specific measures that will have direct implications for higher education institutions
  Including an extended definition of positive action to enable employers to address significant patterns of under-representation amongst their staff, the publication of gender pay gap data by individual HEIs, a ban on the use of pre-employment health questionnaires and extended legal protection for women when breast-feeding.
• Make the law more explicit in the extent to which it covers the 'protected characteristics' of pregnancy and maternity, marital or civil partnership and gender reassignment status.
• Make it easier for people to bring cases of discrimination and extending the powers of employment tribunals
  It will be possible for people to bring cases of 'dual discrimination' (for example, discrimination on the grounds that a person is a black woman or a Muslim man) and enable tribunals to make broader recommendations for employers in response to the circumstances of an individual case of discrimination.

Welcoming the news, Levi Pay, Policy Director at ECU said:

'This legislation goes much further than a statutory tidying-up exercise - it is a bold step forward in tackling discrimination.

Some of the measures will require concrete actions from HEIs, such as the ban on using pre-employment health questionnaires and the proposed publication of employers' gender pay gaps.

Under the new anti-discrimination legislation, it will be clear if organisations aren't complying with their legal responsibilities. It has never been more important for HEIs to ensure they are adequately resourcing their work to promote equality.'

Impact on the HE Sector

ECU is currently producing a briefing which will provide more information about the implications of the Equality Act for the higher education sector.

ECU is also working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission as it develops codes of practice and non-statutory guidance for higher education providers.

Further information

More information on the Equality Bill can be found in our dedicated Equality Bill section.

The Government Equalities Office also produced a helpful summary of the Equality Bill:

• GEO Equality Bill Factsheet (Word document)