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Dear colleagues,
An update on recent Equality Act 2010 developments:
= Public sector equality duty
= Specific duties of the public sector equality duty
= Positive action measures
= Dual discrimination and third-party harassment
= Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) Codes of Practice.
= The public sector equality duty came into force today (5 April 2011). This replaces the previous equality duties for race, gender and disability.
= The previous specific duties for race gender and disability have also been revoked.
Higher education institutions (HEIs) in England, Scotland and Wales have different legislative requirements, as outlined below
= From 5 April 2011 English higher education institutions will be subject to the general duty, meaning they will need to have ‘due regard’ to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations, but they will not be subject to any specific duties.
= There are currently no specific duties underpinning the public sector equality duty in England. Revised proposals for specific duties are contained within the Government Equalities Office (GEO) policy review paper Equality Act 2010: The public sector equality duty: reducing bureaucracy.
= The GEO is seeking comments on the draft regulations by 21 April 2011. ECU will be responding to the document, and we will publish our response online. Institutions choosing to respond individually should email responses to [log in to unmask]
= The current GEO timeline is for the draft regulations to become law in July 2011, although this is subject to the comments received in response to the policy review paper.
= ECU will be updating our briefing Equality Act 2010: Public sector equality duty: England when the new regulations are passed. During the interim period the briefing will remain online. While the specific duties for England will change, this briefing continues to provide examples, pointers and further resources which will help institutions show due regard to the public sector equality duty.
= From 5 April 2011 Scottish higher education institutions will be subject to the general duty, meaning they will need to have ‘due regard’ to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations, but they will not be subject to any specific duties.
= The specific duties for Scotland have been withdrawn for redrafting. The Scottish government expects to undertake further consultation and to make regulations to impose new specific duties later in the year. This will take place after the election to be held on 5 May 2011.
= In the interim, the Scottish government and the EHRC have advised public bodies to continue to embed equality into their work by building on their current systems and good practice while extending their consideration to encompass all of the protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act 2010.
= The Scottish government has written to all public authorities outlining the situation and the EHRC will publish more detailed interim guidance in due course.
= ECU will produce a briefing on what the public sector equality duty means for Scotland when the new regulations are passed. We are also planning to run an event in Scotland to support institutions in meeting the new specific duties. Further information will follow shortly.
= From 5 April 2011 Welsh higher education institutions will be subject to the general duty, meaning they will need to have ‘due regard’ to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations.
= The specific duties in Wales have been approved by the National Assembly for Wales and will commence on 6 April 2011.
= There are a total of 20 draft regulations. These include regulations on:
= Equality objectives
= Engagement provisions
= Arrangements for collection of information about compliance with the general duty
= Impact and monitoring of policies and practices
= Training and collection of employment information
= Pay and action plans
= Strategic Equality Plans
= Reports by authorities on compliance with the general duty
= Public procurement
= The Welsh Assembly government has published a response to the specific duties consultation, which includes details of the requirements for each of the regulations (pages 10-23) http://wales.gov.uk/consultations/equality/equalityact2010/?skip=1&lang=en
= ECU will produce guidance for the higher education sector on the Welsh specific duties. We will also run an event to develop and share existing knowledge within the sector on how to meet the duties. Further details will follow shortly.
= Provisions for positive action in recruitment and promotion will commence on April 6 2011.
= The GEO has released guidance on meeting the new provisions:
= Equality Act 2010: A step-by-step practical guide to using positive action when making appointments
= In his Budget statement to parliament on 23 March 2011, the Chancellor announced that the dual discrimination and third-party harassment provisions of the Equality Act 2010 are to be repealed, as outlined in the treasury’s Plan for Growth.
= Until such time as changes to third-party harassment are made, institutions should continue to meet this legal requirement. ECU will communicate any changes and as much information as possible to the sector as it become available.
= The EHRC codes of practice on employment, services and equal pay reflecting the Equality Act 2010 as commenced on 1 October 2010, come into force on 6 April 2011.
= The codes will replace five existing codes issued by the predecessor bodies to the EHRC. The three new codes are available on the EHRC website: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/legal-and-policy/equality-act/equality-act-codes-of-practice/
= The Code of Practice on Further and Higher Education is due to be laid before Parliament in Summer 2011.
= The Code of Practice for the Public Sector Equality Duty is in the drafting phase and is due to be laid before Parliament in Summer 2011.
= ECU and the Higher Education Equal Opportunities Network recently ran four events to help equality and diversity practitioners and HR staff in England get to grips with the forthcoming specific duties for England. The presentations from these events are now available online. The presentations reflect the changes resulting from the GEO announcement of the new draft regulations.
= Equality Act: meeting the specific duties materials
= You can find further information about the Equality Act on our dedicated Equality Act 2010 homepage.
= ECU will be looking to support HEIs in the coming period and will be providing updated frequently asked questions on our website http://www.ecu.ac.uk/subjects/equality-act-2010
= Please email ECU at [log in to unmask] with any further queries.
Equality Challenge Unit works to further and support equality and diversity for staff and students in higher education across all four nations of the UK.
ECU works closely with colleges of higher education and universities to seek to ensure that staff and students are not unfairly excluded, marginalised or disadvantaged because of age, disability, gender identity, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity status, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, or through any combination of these characteristics or other unfair treatment.
Providing a central source of expertise, research, advice and leadership, we support institutions in building a culture that provides equality of both opportunity and outcome, promotes good relations, values the benefits of diversity and provides a model of equality for the wider UK society.
W: www.ecu.ac.uk E: [log in to unmask] T: 020 7438 1010
Chris Brill
Policy Adviser
Tel: 020 7438 1021
Email: [log in to unmask]
Equality Challenge Unit
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Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) works to further and support equality and diversity for staff and students in higher education across all four nations of the UK. ECU is funded by Universities UK, GuildHE, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, the Scottish Funding Council and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland.
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