The Equality Act 2010 has replaced the previous anti-discrimination laws with a single Act, providing greater fairness, consistency and protection against many forms of discrimination.
The Act applies to services and public functions, premises, employment, education and associations, including political parties.
The Act covers the following protected characteristics:
The Equality Duty is a duty on public bodies and others carrying out public functions. It consists of a general duty and specific duties.
The General Duty has three aims where all public bodies are required to have due regard to the need to:
There are also Specific Duties imposed by Parliament where we are required to demonstrate our compliance to the three aims of the General Duty by: