The Equality Bill Represents Harmonization Of Discrimination Law In 1 Act

The Equality Bill has been approved by the House of Commons and will enter the statute book

, awaiting Royal Assent. The majority of the provisions in the Equality Act 2010 will come into force in October 2010, with the implementation of some provisions being delayed until next year to allow organisations and businesses across the public and private sectors, time to prepare for the new legislation.

A key element in the Act is the harmonisation and extension of discrimination law to cover age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, race and in many but not all instances, marriage and civil partnerships, says Novo Executive Search and Selection. Disability related discrimination will be replaced with a prohibition on discriminating against a disabled person by treating them unfavourably where that treatment is not a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Another new provision in the Act prohibits employers asking job applicants questions about their whether they have a disability or their health, other than in specified circumstances (including whether the candidate will be able to carry out a function that is essential to the work concerned). Employers will still be entitled to screen candidates about health after making a the job offer.

From April 2011 an employee who claims they have been specifically discriminated against because they are, for instance, an Asian woman, rather than just because of their race or gender, will be able to claim for this combination of characteristics.

From April 2011 the Act will create a new single public sector equality duty that will continue to cover disability, race and gender but will be extended to cover sexual orientation, age, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment. Public bodies will be required to consider needs, by reference to these characteristics, when designing and delivering public services.

The ban on age discrimination is going to be extended to the provision of services and public functions.Exceptions will be made and some treatment will be objectively justified - we are expecting that regulations will be published, possibly in the autumn, dealing with the exemptions.

Also private sector employers with 250 employees or more will be encouraged, on a voluntary basis, to publish their pay statistics to demonstrate how they are tackling the gender pay gap. If perceived necessary, this could become compulsory in 2013 (although the Conservatives say they would not require this). Public bodies with 150 or more employees may have to publish their gender pay gap from April 2011.

Novo Executive Search and Selection are experts in executive search and executive recruitment. They find exceptional talent using their knowledge and experience in executive search and industry sectors. Novo executive search and selection www.novoexec.com

by: Fiona Novo

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