Single Equalities Bill

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Discrimination Law Review: A Framework for Fairness: Proposals for a Single Equality Bill for Great Britain

The proposed Single Equalities Bill honours the Governments 2005 general election manifesto pledge for an overall Act addressing discrimination. The Bill seeks to consolidate the current body of legislation spanning 40 years of Acts of Parliament, orders and regulations and review its fitness for 21st century Britain

A new Commission for Equality and Human Rights was established in October 2007 replacing the Equal Opportunities Commission, Commission for Racial Equality and the Disability Rights Commission. The Single Equalities Bill reflects an opportunity to create coherent framework legislation for the new commission’s future operations Harmonising and Simplifying the Law

The Green Paper proposes the Commission for Equality and Human Rights publish a code of practice as a clear guideline on compliance to discrimination legislation consolidated in one document.

The Green Paper asks

• Should we adopt a single disability definition and extend further those protecting transsexuals and gender reassignment?

• Should discrimination be based on overall objective justification tests extended to indirect, age and disability, and create a reasonable adjustment threshold for accommodating disability?

• Should victimization under discrimination adopt the status currently used in employment law?

• Should there be a review on the exceptions existing to service providers to discriminate where legitimate and to insurers on the grounds of sexual orientation?

• Should we take a single approach to discrimination law within public functions, goods, facilities and services?

• Should the Bill bring equal pay under the scope of discrimination, and if so include judgments from recent court decisions?

• How else could equal pay legislation be simplified to be made to work in practice?

Making the Law More Effective

• Should we broaden reasonable adjustment concepts for disability to other protected groups?

• And should greater balancing measures benefit protected groups more by meeting their particular needs?

• Do we need a single and extended duty replacing individual issues upon the public sector?

• Such a duty is proposed to place targets for achievement on taking action as to discrimination to be reviewed every three years.

Modernising the Law

• Should employment statutory protected grounds be reviewed to modernize the day to day operational definitions of disability, current non-legislative approaches to genetic predisposition and the statuses of marriage, civil partnerships, parents and careers?

• Should the Bill maintain the current definition of gender reassignment?

• Should exceptions for clubs specifically established for members of a particular religion or belief remain?

• Should age discrimination in private clubs be outlawed except those catering for specific age ranges?

• Should there be an extension of the laws on disabled guests to race and sexual orientation?

The Green Paper also seeks views on

• Entrenching prohibition of less favourable treatment to women based on pregnancy and maternity in the exercise of public functions except education in schools.

• Duties to landlords on making alterations where a disabled person finds common areas to residential lettings to the cost of the disabled person.

Responses

Disability Rights Commission Chairman Sir Bert Massie criticizes that The Green Paper “…fails to measure up – either to the remit it was set or the reality of continued inequality and discrimination in Britain today.”[1] Other disability organizations have sounded similar concerns with Liz Sayce, chief executive of RADAR, adding: "The green paper was so widely rejected that the final content of the bill will surely differ considerably.”[2]

London Councils shared Sir Massie’s other concerns over the single duty on discrimination for the public sector, warning against erosion of existing levels of protection on race, gender and disability already offered. London Council’s Chair of Equalities, Anjana Patel stated “…there is a real danger that the government’s current proposals will actually weaken some existing levels of protection currently afforded through public sector equalities duties. “[3]

Help the Age’s Kate Joplin viewed the Green Paper as a chance to close "gaping holes" in current age discrimination legislation.[4]

In contrast on equal pay provision Fawcett Society Director Katherine Rake stated: "At the current rate of change, it's going to take 140 years until women are paid equally - and the government has missed a huge opportunity to speed that up."[5]

Faith groups joined the fray over what is seen as a lack of protection against religious discrimination. The Church of England Archbishop’s Council published a response to the Bill highlighting “We have been concerned at what has seemed in some recent debates to be a trend towards regarding religion and belief as deserving of a lesser priority in discrimination legislation than the other strands where the law seeks to bring protection.”[6]

A spokeswoman for the Department of Communities and Local Government called on all critics to recognise that the Single Equality Bill would unite "nine pieces of major legislation and around 100 pieces of ancillary legislation,” calling on the recognition of “…the scale of the reforms we are putting forward today."[7]