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  Regional Equality & Diversity Partnership  

List of Equality Act provisions coming into force on October 1st

Date: 17/9/2010
Summary: The Government announced on 3 July that the first wave of implementation of the Equality Act will take place on 1 October 2010. On this date, the vast majority of the Act's provisions will come into force.

Provisions coming into force on 1 October 2010

  • The basic framework of protection against direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation in services and public functions; premises; work; education; associations, and transport.
  • Changing the definition of gender reassignment, by removing the requirement for medical supervision.
  • Levelling up protection for people discriminated against because they are perceived to have, or are associated with someone who has, a protected characteristic, so providing new protection for people like carers.
  • Clearer protection for breastfeeding mothers;
  • Applying the European definition of indirect discrimination to all protected characteristics.
  • Extending protection from indirect discrimination to disability.
  • Introducing a new concept of “discrimination arising from disability”, to replace protection under previous legislation lost as a result of a legal judgment.
  • Applying the detriment model to victimisation protection (aligning with the approach in employment law).
  • Harmonising the thresholds for the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people.
  • Extending protection from 3rd party harassment to all protected characteristics.
  • Making it more difficult for disabled people to be unfairly screened out when applying for jobs, by restricting the circumstances in which employers can ask job applicants questions about disability or health.
  • Allowing hypothetical comparators for direct gender pay discrimination.
  • Making pay secrecy clauses unenforceable.
  • Extending protection in private clubs to sex, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, and gender reassignment.
  • Introducing new powers for employment tribunals to make recommendations which benefit the wider workforce.
  • Harmonising provisions allowing voluntary positive action.

Provisions on which the Government is consulting about how best to implement

  • Public sector Equality Duty

Provisions the Government is still considering

  • the Socio-economic Duty on public authorities
  • dual discrimination
  • duty to make reasonable adjustments to common parts of leasehold and commonhold premises and common parts in Scotland
  • gender pay gap information
  • provisions relating to auxiliary aids in schools
  • diversity reporting by political parties
  • positive action in recruitment and promotion
  • provisions about taxi accessibility
  • prohibition on age discrimination in services and public functions
  • family property
  • civil partnerships on religious premises

Ministers are considering how to implement these remaining provisions in the best way for business and for others with rights and responsibilities under the Act. Their decisions will be announced in due course.

For all of this information and more, please see The Government Equalities Office website.

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