Equality Act 2010 Line Managers Date updated March

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Equality Act 2010 Line Managers Date: updated March 2011 1

Equality Act 2010 Line Managers Date: updated March 2011 1

Equality Act 2010 - Background • The first wave of changes arising from The

Equality Act 2010 - Background • The first wave of changes arising from The Equality Act 2010 came into force on 1 October 2010. • The aim is to create a single approach to equality across all equality strands now called ‘protected characteristics’ although there are exceptions, for example ‘pregnancy and maternity’ is not protected from indirect discrimination. • The next part of the Equality Act is a new public sector equality duty which came into force on 5 April 2011. 2

Equality Act - Protected Characteristics • The Act protects people from discrimination on the

Equality Act - Protected Characteristics • The Act protects people from discrimination on the basis of ‘protected characteristics’ (these used to be called ‘grounds’). Protected characteristics are: – age; – disability (definition has changed – potentially bringing more people into scope of the Act); – gender reassignment (definition has changed – medical supervision no longer required); – marriage and civil partnership; – pregnancy and maternity; – race; – religion or belief; – sex; and – sexual orientation. 3

Equality Act – at a glance 4

Equality Act – at a glance 4

Equality Act - changes to discrimination • Discrimination by association – it is illegal

Equality Act - changes to discrimination • Discrimination by association – it is illegal to discriminate against someone who is associated with a person who has a protected characteristic. • Discrimination by perception – it is illegal to discriminate against someone if this is due to perceiving them to have a protected characteristic – even if this is incorrect. • Indirect discrimination – already applies to most protected characteristics – extended to all except pregnancy and maternity. • Discrimination arising from disability – unfavourable treatment because of something connected with the disability. There is no requirement for a comparator. Remember potentially more people will therefore be covered by the Act. 5

Equality Act - changes to harassment • Harassment applies to all protected characteristics except

Equality Act - changes to harassment • Harassment applies to all protected characteristics except for pregnancy and maternity and marriage and civil partnership. • The new law extends protection to people if: – they are harassed because they associate with someone who has a protected characteristic; or – because someone thinks you have a protected characteristic, • For example, if someone is harassed because their son is gay, or because someone wrongly thinks they are Muslim. • Third party harassment – DWP will be potentially liable for the harassment of our staff by third parties who are not our employees – for example, customers. 6

Equality Act - staff responsibilities • DWP have standards and guidance to make sure

Equality Act - staff responsibilities • DWP have standards and guidance to make sure behaviours such as bullying and/or harassment are unacceptable and to provide excellent service to our customers. • These standards and practices remain and staff should therefore continue to: – be treated with respect at work and not be harassed, bullied or unfairly discriminated against on any grounds; – treat our customers, colleagues and partners fairly and with respect; – put in place reasonable adjustments for disabled customers and disabled staff; – provide an accessible service for all our customers; and – carry out equality impact assessments on all new policies and procedures and changes to existing ones. • Further information on equality and what you need to do to deliver equality in your role can be found on: – Equality and You: http: //intralink/1/corp/sites/hr/nonpolicy/diversityandequality/department/strategyan dpolicy/DWP_T 580323. asp#Top. Of. Page 7

Equality Act – public sector equality duty • A new public sector equality duty

Equality Act – public sector equality duty • A new public sector equality duty came into effect on the 5 April 2011. • The public sector equality duty consists of a general equality duty and specific duties. Note: only the general duty will come into force in April 2011. • General duty: – Requires us, when carrying out our functions, to have due regard* to the need to: • eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act. • advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. • foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. • Specific duties: – are designed to help Public Bodies to meet the general duty; – will not come into force until July 2011 (current date) due to a Government review of the draft regulations relating to the specific duties. *‘due regard’ is covered on slide 9. 8

Public sector equality duty - what does ‘due regard’ mean? • The Department must

Public sector equality duty - what does ‘due regard’ mean? • The Department must meet the requirements of the Equality Act and the public sector general duty, which means having due regard when carrying out our functions. • Due regard involves: – removing or minimising disadvantages suffered by people due to their protected characteristics. • For example, providing access to our services by use of an interpreter or larger font documents. – taking steps to meet the needs of people from protected groups where these are different from the needs of other people. • For example, taking steps to take account of disabled people’s disabilities and treating some people more favourably than others. – encouraging people from protected groups to participate in public life or in other activities where their participation is disproportionately low. – fostering good relations, • For example, tackling prejudice and promoting understanding between people from different groups. 9

Further Information • Further information can be found: – The Diversity and Equality intranet

Further Information • Further information can be found: – The Diversity and Equality intranet site: http: //intralink/1/corp/sites/hr/nonpolicy/diversityandequality/index. asp – Government Equalities Office (GEO): http: //www. equalities. gov. uk/equality_bill. aspx – EHRC: http: //www. equalityhumanrights. com/advice-andguidance/guidance-equality-act-2010/ 10