Explain The Main Purpose Of The Equality Act 2010

Equality Act 2010 is the law that bands unfair treatment and helps achieve equal opportunities in the work place and wider society.

The Equality Act became law on the 1st of October, 2010, replacing prior legislation such as the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Broadly, it ensures regularity in what employers and employees are required to do to make their workplaces a fair environment, conform and abide with the law, defining the nine protected characteristics, Age, Disability, Gender reassignment, Marriage and civil partnership, Pregnancy and maternity, Race, Religion or belief, Sex, Sexual orientation

The values of social work include service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, the importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. Including these values in one’s social work practice will in most cases create rather successful results. Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people will be the focus of this paper. The Equality Act will also be discussed because it is a policy being pushed to create federal non-discrimination laws for LGBTQ people. This then poses the question, will the passing of the Equality Act into law decrease discrimination against LGBTQ people? To answer this question the five dimensions of social policy and change will be discussed.

What is Equality? According to The Equal Rights Trust (2008) it is “…the right of all human beings to be equal in dignity, be treated with respect and consideration and to participate on an equal basis with others in any area of economic, social, political, cultural or civil life.” (p.1). The major principle of equality as mentioned by The Equal Rights Trust (2008) is accommodation “Accommodation means the necessary and appropriate modifications and adjustments, including anticipatory measures, to facilitate the ability of every individual to participate in any area of economic, social, political, cultural or civil life on an equal basis with others.” (p. 7). It follows that equality is based on the principle of accommodation that tries to

The Equality Act 2010 legally protects individuals from discrimination and helps accomplish equal opportunities in the workplace and in wider society. It replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single Act, making the law easier to perceive and strengthening protection in some situations. It sets out the different ways that within which it’s unlawful to treat somebody.

The employment equality act is there to protect employees who suffer from discrimination in the workplace. The consequences of discriminating against an employment either in working or in the appointment will be catastrophic for employers.

Discrimination legislation is encompassed by the Equality Act 2010. The Act simplifies, strengthens and harmonises current legislation providing a new discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and equal society. The act bans discrimination of all kinds (direct, indirect, associated, perception)

The EAT demonstrates, that a worker is designated to deliver a claim against his current employer claiming that s/he had experienced a detriment for whistleblowing, even though s/he was not an employee of the employer at the time when s/he made the protected disclosure. The EAT takes a prudent approach, asserting that the Employment Rights Act 1996 is competent of this analysis.

In order to protect the people from unfair pay treatment or discrimination. From the earliest Equal Pay Act,

Despite the Act coming in to place over fifty years ago in 1957, statistics show that improvements to the gender balance have been painfully slow. By 1997, just as little as 21% of house of Lord members were women, although that being the case the numbers had double since 1992. Today (2010) there is still only 29% of MPs that are women . For decades, activist groups, lobbying groups, human rights campaigners and a range of societal and moral pressures have been influencing factors in the introduction of legislative, corrective measures. A number of Acts have been introduced to promote equality. Equality is often a broad topic for discussion, the UK in particular feels equality in the work place and general society is determent. The employment

The Equal Employment Opportunities Act (EEO) aims to promote everyone’s right to equal opportunities and can participate freely within workplaces. “…The process by which all existing and potential employees are treated on a fair and equitable basis in the workplace…” (Department of Education)

Equal treatment in society is a recognised common law principle. But over the last decade successive governments have developed statute law that is both far reaching and robust. This vast expansion and promotion of equality now takes form in The Equality Act 2010 which provides protection for people or groups of people from discrimination. As well as promoting equality in society, it also provides a comprehensive framework for both employers and employees in how to assess whether discrimination has occurred in a workplace environment. It reflects the scope of the original aims laid down by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and along with section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998, equality in the United Kingdom is one step ahead of our European partners.

“Equality act 2010. This act legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society”

The Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 is a policy that promotes the equality of opportunity for every individual. Discrimination relates to the unfair treatment due to who they are or a certain attribute that an individual may have. Supporting the legislation will also support the development of effective work relationships that focuses on cultural and social sensitivity. When employees have a high cultural and social sensitivity, they are more aware of the cultural/social differences and similarities of people around them. Therefore there will be less diversity issues when it comes to employment in the workforce leading to a development of trust and confidence between employees.

They have a duty of care and a legal obligation to abide by human right laws, introduced to ensure people had protection, equal living standards and opportunity. The Equality Act 2010 was introduced to make sure disabled people were not discriminated against and were provided additional support if needed. Also, The Race Relation Act 1976 which promotes fairness, equal opportunity and ensured people were not discriminated against due to skin colour. These laws and others help ensure rights are protected and fairness, dignity and freedom is granted to all.