Equal Pay Act – 1970 or (EPA)
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The purpose of the Equal Pay Act is to eliminate discrimination between men and women in pay and other terms of their contracts
of employment such as piecework, output, bonus payments, holidays and sick leave.
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It covers: like work, work rated as equivalent, work of equal value.
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It does not give anyone a right to claim equal pay with another person of the same sex.
The Gender Reassignment Regulations 1999 or (GRR)
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Came into force on1st May 1999.
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Extends the SDA to cover discrimination in employment and vocational training on grounds of gender reassignment.
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“Gender reassignment” is defined by the SDA as “. . . a process, which is undertaken under medical supervision
for the purposes of reassigning a person’s sex by changing physiological or other characteristics of sex, and includes
any part of such a process.
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The Regulations do not cover the provision of goods, facilities or services.
The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 or (SDA)
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The Sex Discrimination Act makes it illegal to treat a woman or a man less favourably on the grounds of their sex or
marital status (ie whether they are married or not) in employment, training, education and the provision of goods, facilities
and services to members of the public.
•
This includes: in the selection process; the terms on which a job is offered; choosing a successful applicant; in opportunities
for promotion; transfers or training; in benefits granted by an employer; in dismissals, disciplinary hearings or other unfair
treatment of employees. Equal Pay Act 1970 (EPA)
The Race Relations Act 1976 or (RRA)
The
Race Relations Act 1976 makes it illegal to discriminate on the grounds of colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origins
in the fields of:
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employment;
•
training and related matters;
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education;
•
the provision of goods, facilities and
services;
•
accommodation.
This
includes:
•
the selection process;
•
the terms on which the job is offered;
•
choosing a successful applicant;
•
in opportunities for promotion;
•
transfers or training;
•
in benefits granted by an employer;
•
in dismissals, disciplinary hearings or
other
unfair treatment of employees.
The Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 or (RRAA)
The
Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 (RRAA) The Race Relations Act 1976 (RRA) The Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 places a
‘general duty’ on all public authorities eg Local Councils, Schools, Colleges, the Police etc to:
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Eliminate unlawful racial discrimination; and
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Promote equality of opportunity; and
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Promote good race relations between persons of different racial groups.
Public
authorities also have to have in place policies and action plans which set out how they are going to meet the duties mentioned
above, and other more ‘specific‘ duties placed upon them, such as staff training, monitoring their staff and customers
by ethnic origin and ensuring that their policies and procedures do not have an adverse impact on one group of people in relation
to another.
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 or (DDA)
The
Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) This Act makes it illegal to treat someone with a disability
less favourably than other people, unless there is a justifiable reason to do so. The courts will decide if the reason is justified.
The
DDA affects:
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Employers and service providers
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Disabled people
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Landlords and others who are responsible for letting or selling property.
A
person is disabled if they have:
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“…a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term
adverse
effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day to day activities.”
In
order to help a disabled person to do the job, employers will have to decide what changes are necessary to the workplace or
the ways the work is done, and make any changes that are reasonable. When considering what is reasonable, employers will take
into account how much the changes would cost and how much they would help.
Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2000 or (SENDA)
Also
referred to as Part 4 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. SENDA is the part of the DDA that relates to Education. It
came into force in September 2002. It means that Colleges and Local Educational Authorities have legal responsibilities:
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Not to treat disabled learners
less favourably
for a reason related to their disability; and also
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To provide reasonable adjustments for disabled learners.
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These responsibilities apply to any service, which is provided specifically for students eg all teaching, catering facilities,
outings and trips etc.
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The responsibilities are also ‘anticipatory’ which means that the likely needs of disabled learners must be anticipated
and provision should be made in advance ie they should not just respond to the individual‘s needs of one learner when
the situation arises.
EU Employment Directive 2000
The
Directive put in place a general framework for equal treatment in employment and vocational training and guidance. It is commonly
called the Employment Directive. It is designed to outlaw discrimination at work and training on grounds of age, sexual orientation,
disability and religion or belief. It sets a framework, which will ensure that there are minimum standards for combating discrimination
throughout the European Union.
How
a directive works, is that a member state such as the UK, passes new legislation in its own country, to meet timescales in the European Directive. These dates are 2003 for Religion and Sexual Orientation and 2006 for Age. In the UK discrimination on the grounds of Religion and Sexual
Orientation became illegal in December 2003 and discrimination on the grounds of Age will be illegal by the end of 2006. There
have also been changes to the Disability Discrimination Act that take effect in October 2004 to account for the changes introduced
in the Directive.
Human Rights Act 1998 or (HRA)
Came
into force on the 2nd October 2000. Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights states that: “...the enjoyment of the rights and
freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any grounds such as sex, race, colour, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or
other status.” All public authorities are required to adhere to the HRA. This means that courts, which themselves are
considered public authorities, will have to interpret domestic law in line with the HRA. This means that issues such as sexual
orientation could have been ruled unlawful despite not being directly covered by UK legislation until December
2003.
Employment Equality Regulations 2003 Sexual Orientation
The
regulations apply to all employment and vocational training and include recruitment, terms and conditions, promotions, transfers,
dismissals and training. They make it unlawful on the grounds of sexual orientation to:
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Discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation;
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Subject someone to harassment
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Victimise someone because they have made or intend to make a complaint or allegation or have given or intend to give evidence
in relation to a complaint of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation;
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Discriminate against someone, in certain circumstances, after the working relationship has ended.
Within
the regulations, sexual orientation is defined as:-
Orientation
towards persons of the same sex (lesbians
or gay men)
Orientation
towards persons of the opposite sex (heterosexual)
Orientation
towards persons of the same sex and the opposite sex (bisexual)
