Single public sector equality duty is introduced

The Equality Act 2010 is being implemented in stages and more of its provisions are expected to come into force in April 2011, including the introduction of a single public sector equality duty on 6 April 2011. 

The general equality duty requires public bodies to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between different groups. The specific duties are aimed at helping public bodies to meet their obligations under the general equality duty, and to make them more accountable to the public. 

The specific duties for public bodies include that they must publish information (at least annually) relating to their performance of the general equality duty, such as:

  • information relating to the protected characteristics of the workforce, if the public authority has 150 or more employees (the Equality and Human Rights Commission's code of practice will set out what data should be published and this is expected to include data on the gender pay gap, the proportion of staff from ethnic minority communities and the distribution of disabled employees throughout an organisation's structure);
  • impact assessments on their policies and practices;
  • information that they took into account when carrying out impact assessments on their policies and practices; and
  • details of engagement undertaken with interested parties. 

Public bodies must set equality outcome objectives, at least every four years, informed by the evidence and data that they publish, which will help them to fulfil their obligations under the general duty. 

Also

Equality Act 2010: resources on XpertHR We provide a round-up of the new and updated resources from XpertHR on the Equality Act 2010, the main provisions of which come into force on 1 October 2010.