Skip to main content

Current Style: Standard

Text size

-A   |   +A

Pluss

What the law says

The Equality Act 2010 has now replaced the Disability Discrimination Act.

The principle behind the Equality Act is that everyone has the right to be treated fairly at work or when using services. All employers therefore have a responsibility to treat their employees and service users fairly.

The Equality Act and Employment
For employers, the act covers every employer and every aspect of employment including

  • When someone starts and finishes work with you (including adverts, interviews, selection, retirement, dismissal etc)
  • Day to day managment (including employee pay, training, dress, facilities at work)
  • Anything else that may come up (including maternity, flexible working, annual and sick leave etc).

The law still applies even if your workers are temporary, do not have written contracts of employment or are recruited to other positions such as trainees, apprentices or business partners.

There are many simple steps that employers can take. View Pluss' top tips guide.


Contact Pluss linkWho is protected by the Equality Act?
The following characteristics are protected by the act:

  • Disability
  • Gender reassignment 
  • Marriage or civil partnership
  • Pregnancy and maternity
  • Race
  • Religion or belief
  • Sexual orientation
  • Sex (gender)
  • Age

All the above are known as 'Protected Characteristics'.

What is the act protecting against?
The law protects agains three main types of prohibited conduct:

1. Discrimination.
This includes:

  • Treating a person worse than someone else because of a protected characteristic.
  • Putting in place a rule or way of doing things that has a worse impact on someone with a protected characteristic than someone without one, when this cannot be justified.  
  • Treating a disabled person unfavourably because of something connected with their disability when this cannot be justified.
  • Failing to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people.

2. Harassment
Unwanted conduct which violates someone’s dignity or which is hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive to someone with a protected characteristic .

3. Victimisation
Treating someone unfavourably because they have taken action under the Equality Act or are supporting somebody else to do so.

History of the Equality Act
The Equalities Act replaces all the existing equality law including

  • The Equal Pay Act 1970
  • The Sex Discrimination Act 1975
  • The Race Relations Act 1976
  • The Disability Discrimination Act 1995

Most of the new law is based on previous legislation which has been streamlined.

Useful Resources
The Equality and Human Rights Commission website have some useful resources you can view, including

Pluss can help
Pluss haved worked with thousands of employers over the last 40 years, to help them retain staff facing difficulties at work due to their health condition or disability.

If you have a difficult situation and you are not sure what to do - Call our Employment Bureau for an informal chat.

The above information has been taken from the Equality and Human Rights Commission website.