ATL

Equality for all?

A ground-breaking Equality Bill is in the offing and its effects could be far-reaching. ATL solicitor Mary Towers takes a closer look

Since this article went to press, the Equality Bill has been published and will now be considered by the House of Commons and the House of Lords. There will also be further consultation on some provisions of the Bill. In particular, further consultation will take place during summer 2009 on the public sector equality duty. In relation to the right for trade unions to pursue representative actions referred to in this article, this remains subject to consultation and does not appear in the published Bill.

Most of the Bill is expected to come into force in Autumn 2010. We will produce further guidance once the Bill has been finalised and consultation is complete. In the meantime, please see www.equalities.gov.uk to keep track of the progress of the Bill and associated consultation.

Over the past few years, discrimination law has changed and developed, resulting in a complex web of discrimination legislation. The government proposes to introduce a single Equality Bill, which will encompass existing discrimination law and will also introduce new duties and principles in relation to equality in society. We set out below some of the intended changes to be made by the new Equality Bill.

The Equality Bill will replace existing legislation relating to equal pay, sex discrimination, race discrimination, disability discrimination, discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, age discrimination and various other pieces of discrimination law, with a single Act.

The definition of disability discrimination will be simplified, so it should be easier to establish whether an individual benefits from the protection of disability discrimination law.

Public bodies including, for example, local authorities, will have an equality duty that will cover (in addition to the existing areas of race, disability and gender) age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, and religion and belief. This will mean that public bodies will be required to bear in mind equality issues when carrying out any of their functions - for example, ensuring that the design of buildings and facilities meet the needs of disabled and elderly people.

The public body duty is subject to further consultation before the precise terms are finalised. Public bodies will also be required to focus more on the reporting of equality issues.

Provisions in the bill will support positive action. This is a potentially controversial area. It seems that the bill will not impose positive action, but will merely allow positive action to be lawful in certain circumstances. An example of positive action is where a headteacher at a primary school with no male teachers decides to appoint a male, as the appointment would allow boys at the school to benefit from a male role model.

The bill also looks at strengthening enforcement. This may include giving tribunals the option not only to make awards for compensation in discrimination cases, but also to make recommendations relating to discrimination issues that will be applicable to the whole workforce, not just the individual employee who pursued the claim.

The bill is also intended to support work carried out by organisations and individuals to encourage equality, including bodies such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission, ACAS and work carried out by trade union equality representatives.

There is a possibility that the bill will introduce the right for trade unions to commence representative actions; that is, a discrimination claim on behalf of a group of members, rather than each member pursuing a separate claim. This proposal is currently subject to further consideration.

The Equality Bill is intended to cover England, Scotland and Wales, and it seems likely that Northern Ireland will also follow the terms of the bill. The Equality and Human Rights Commission states on its website that "given the existence of devolved laws in Scotland and Wales, aspects of the bill will need to be crafted and implemented differently across Britain. This will be of particular significance in clauses framing the public duties, and when referring to policy areas such as education and housing, which have been exclusively or predominantly devolved.

The Commission will work on the customisation of the bill, and with Parliamentarians and Assembly members from the devolved administrations to ensure the law is fair regardless of where you live in Britain."

The Equality Bill was announced by the Queen in her speech in December 2008. At the time of writing, the bill was in the process of being drafted and is due to be introduced in Parliament this year. In the meantime, further consultations have been taking place on various aspects of it, including the provisions relating to age discrimination and the public-sector equality duty.

The bill will hopefully be drafted in plain English rather than legalistic language and this should ensure that its provisions are accessible and understandable for all.

For further information on the bill and its progress visit: www.equalities.gov.uk

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