Study the Equality Act or pay the price

Few new laws have caused as much debate as the Equality Act, introduced in October 2010. As well as updating and amending a number of existing provisions, it brings together all the “protected characteristics” that were spread across various anti-discrimination legislation.

These protected characteristics fall under familiar headings – age, disability, gender re-assignment, marriage and civil partnerships, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. But they have been extended as a result of Employment Tribunal decisions to include third party harassment, associative and perceptive discrimination.

As a result, employers will have to review, and possibly amend, policies and procedures relating to equal opportunities, harassment and recruitment to make sure they comply. They will also have to effectively manage inappropriate office banter and remove posters that could trigger a claim for discrimination.

When recruiting, they will have to ensure that robust shortlisting and interview processes are in place. They should avoid health-related questions unless they are intrinsic to the job, and refrain from issuing health questionnaires, prior to making an offer of employment. Employers should also ensure the recruitment application form no longer asks about absences from work. In addition,  pay secrecy clause in employment contract will be unenforceable if it restricts employees ability to participate in Equal Pay investigation.

So much for what we know. In the future, it is likely that the Act will broaden to allow claims of “dual discrimination” linking two protected characteristics. Other predictions include positive action in recruitment and promotion and gender gap reporting in the private sector.

What can employers do to pre-empt successful claims? Apart from compliant procedures, the answer is training. Every team member should be made aware of their obligations and responsibilities under the Act, not just management and the board or trustees. Training is an acceptable defence against a claim; ignorance is not.

Cheryl Gowdie is a Director in Buzzacott's HR Consultancy Team