The Equality Bill: the new draft Employment Code of Practice
As the Equality Bill continues its parliamentary progress, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published three draft statutory codes of practice for consultation. These cover
• Employment;
• Equal Pay; and
• Services, public functions and associations.
Whilst it is recognised that some parts of these draft codes are incomplete and will be subject to revision as the Bill continues to be debated and potentially amended in Parliament, the aim is to ensure that the final codes will be available to support the new Act once it becomes law. With some elements possibly coming into force as soon as October 2010, the EHRC wishes to give the relevant parties as much time as possible to respond to the consultation and so influence and help shape the final versions.
The Equality Bill is the most significant piece of equality legislation for many years and it will be vital that clear and authoritative guidance is available to enable organisations and individuals to fully understand what the changes will mean for them and their rights and responsibilities under the new Act. The codes draw on precedent and case law, explaining the implications of the new Act and providing a comprehensive analysis of the detail of the relevant legislation. In addition, the EHRC is producing non-statutory guidance which is intended to be more practical and accessible than the codes themselves.
As well as the broader changes which will impact on all employers, the Bill places a number of specific requirements on public sector bodies, for example, the new single equality duty and new socio-economic duty. Thorough planning and preparation will therefore be vital to ensure the public sector effectively responds to and fully meets these new responsibilities and the codes of practice and accompanying guidance will, hopefully, assist with this.
In this article, Deborah Moon, HR Consultant, looks at the structure and general content of the draft Employment Code of Practice and considers some of the main equality issues which are raised by it.
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