The Equality Bill - what's coming?

The first wave of the Equality Bill is due to come into force in October 2010. It's intention is to bring together all the current discrimination laws namely, Race Relations Act 1975, Sex Discrimination Act 1976, Disability Discrimination Act 1995, etc.

In Bill will:

• Re-define what discrimination is
• Include that employers will need to justify any detrimental treatment of a disabled person as being a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim
• Include persons who adopt a new gender role even if they have no intention of reassigning their gender medically
• Include that it is unlawful to treat women who are pregnant less favourably
• Allow pay to be discussed amongst employees
• Require private sector employers with over 250 employees to publish male and female pay differences
• Include the right for employers to positively discriminate where there is under-representation of a particular sex, age, race, etc. Employers will of course need to be able to objectively justify such action.

The Act will not include the following conditions relate dto disability:

• Addictions e.g. alcohol, tabaco, other substance. Addictions arising from the taking of medically prescribed drugs will however be included.
• Hay fever - unless it affects (can be linked to) another condition.
• Tattoos and body piercing.
• Certain mental conditions e.g. tendency to steal, physically abuse others, compulsion towards exhibitionism or voyeurism.

More to follow soon.