Equality Bill Gets Myth Busters Treatment

The Equality Bill which completed the final stage of its passage through Parliament last week will now become law. Once the Bill receives Royal Assent, it will formally become an Act and its provisions will begin to take effect in the autumn.

The majority will come into force in October, although the implementation of some provisions will be delayed until next year to allow organisations across the public and private sectors time to prepare.

Rachel Dineley, employment partner and head of the Diversity and Discrimination Unit at law firm Beachcroft LLP, welcomed the harmonisation of the law into a single Act.

"Our current discrimination legislation, which governs so much in the workplace and beyond, has often been inconsistent and difficult to interpret," she said. "A single set of rules, and some simplified language, will be welcome, but with change come challenges."

There is no doubt that the Act will be tested by employers and employees as soon as it comes into force, she went on.
It is clear that the public sector is expected to play a leading role in implementing change, Ms Dineley said, but private sector employers with 250 employees or more will, for example, be encouraged to publish their statistics to demonstrate how they are tackling the gender pay gap.

She also forecast that public sector employers with more than 150 employees will be required to publish data on BME (black and minority ethnic) and disabled groups.

But it seems that following on from it's hatred of health and safety legislation, and the Human Rights Act, the media is now turning it's attention to waging a campaign of misrepresentations and fantasy when it comes to the Equalities Act and religion. Such is the concern that the Government have, and similar to the HSE, has issued its own myth-busting pages with regard to religious belief and the new Equality legislation.

Some examples of the type of fantasy truths peddled by the media are answered in the Equality Myth Busters document:

* The Equality Bill will ban religious celebrations!

* Authorities are avoiding use of the word ‘Christmas’ out of cultural sensitivity!

* The Equality Bill will force churches to hire gay priests!

The opening paragraph to the pdf format document says:

The Equality Bill will strengthen the law and maintain people’s protection from discrimination because of their religious beliefs. There has been some misunderstanding about the intentions and impact of the Bill, especially around Christmas, so this fact sheet will help to clarify the facts from the myths.

A full guide to the Bill can be found in the E-Library database along with the Equality Myth Buster.

Source: Croner / Equalities Office

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