This legislation will have far reaching effects on every employer in the United Kingdom and also the providers of services.

During its passage through Parliament there have already been amendments to the Bill, one of which follows consultation to assess the impact of a multiple discrimination provision.

The new clause to be added is “to protect people who experience discrimination because of a combination of two characteristics such as black and minority ethnic women or religious men”.  For example this would mean that a black woman who is discriminated against by her employer because her employer has particular stereotypical attitudes towards black women as opposed to black men or white women could bring a single claim for combined race and sex discrimination.

As the law stands at present, discrimination claims can only be brought in respect of a single protected characteristic.  The Government considers that this means for some people who experience multiple discrimination it is sometimes impossible to get a legal remedy.

   It is now anticipated that this Bill will become law during 2010.  

We will keep you updated in following newsletters and will be producing a specific briefing as soon as we have an indication of the final version of the Bill.

In the meantime it would be a good idea to review Equal Opportunities/Equality Policies in your terms and conditions of employment and handbook, and where necessary bring these up to date.

It would also be useful to do an audit in relation to current standards on equality.

For more information and advice on this employment law subject or any other matter, please contact the ELAS team on 0161 785 2000. 

Visit www.employment-law.uk.com for more information.

For HR Software to manage your absences, visit www.employersafe.co.uk