Huh. No surprise there. Sounds good in my book.
After a decade, the Representation of the People Act 1928 finally gave women the vote on an equal footing. Attitudes to racial prejudice in the law were set to change markedly with the proverbial "winds of change" sweeping through the Empire after World War II. As Britain's colonies won independence, many immigrated to the motherland, and for the first time communities of all colours were seen in London and the industrial cities of the North. The Equal Pay Act 1970, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976 were passed by Harold Wilson's Labour government.
In 1972, Britain became a member of the European Community, which became the European Union in 1992 with the agreement of the Maastricht Treaty. The Conservative government opted out of the Social Chapter of the treaty, which included provisions on which anti-discrimination law would be based. Although they passed the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, it was not until Tony Blair's "New Labour" government won the 1997 election that the UK opted into the social provisions of EU law. In 2000, the EU overhauled and introduced new Directives explicitly protecting people with a particular sexuality, religion, belief and age, as well as updating the protection against disability, race and gender discrimination. The law is therefore quite new and is still in a state of flux. Between the EU passing directives and the UK government implementing them, it is apparent that the government has often failed to offer the required minimum level of protection. More changes are likely soon to iron out the anomalies.
Equality framework Edit
Equality legislation in the UK, formerly in separate Acts and regulations for each protected characteristic, is now primarily found in the Equality Act 2010. Particularly since the United Kingdom joined the Social Chapter of the European Union treaties, it mirrors a series of EU Directives. The three main Directives are the Equal Treatment Directive (Directive 2006/54/EC, for gender), the Racial Equality Directive (2000/48/EC) and the Directive establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (2000/78/EC, for religion, belief, sexuality, disability and age). Updates can be implemented automatically in domestic legislation as required by the case law of the European Court of Justice or changes in EU legislation.
Direct discrimination Edit
Direct discrimination occurs when an employer treats someone less favourably on the ground of a protected characteristic. It is unlawful under section 13 of the Equality Act 2010. A protected characteristic (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation) must be the reason for the different treatment, so that it is because of that characteristic that the less favourable treatment occurs. Generally, the law protects everyone, not just a group perceived to suffer discrimination. Therefore it is unlawful to treat a man less favourably than a woman, or a woman less favourably than a man, on the ground of the person's sex. However people who are single are not protected against more favourable treatment of people in marriage or civil partnership, and able people are not protected if a disabled person is treated more favourably.
In Coleman v Attridge Law in the European Court of Justice confirmed that a person may claim discrimination even if they are not the person with the protected characteristic, but rather they suffer unfavourable treatment because of someone they associate with.
For the protected characteristic of Age, it is a defence to a claim of direct discrimination that the discrimination is "justified" by some reason. There is no defence of justification for other protected characteristics.
Harassment Edit
See also: Harassment (UK), Workplace bullying and Protection from Harassment Act 1997
Under the Equality Act 2010 section 26,[6] a person harasses another if he or she engages in unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, and the conduct has the purpose or effect of violating the other's dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the other. It is also harassment if a person treats another less favourably because the other has rejected or submitted to unwanted conduct of a sexual nature.
Victimisation Edit
See also: Victimisation and Organizational retaliatory behavior § Workplace retaliation
The definition of "victimisation" is found in the Equality Act 2010 section 27.[7] It refers to subjecting a person to a further detriment after they try to complain or bring proceedings in connection with discrimination, on their own behalf or on behalf of someone else.
Indirect discrimination Edit
"Indirect" discrimination is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010 section 19.[8] It involves the application of a provision, criterion or practice to everyone, which has a disproportionate effect on some people and is not objectively justified. For instance, a requirement that applicants for a job be over a certain height would have a greater impact on women than on men, as the average height of women is lower than that of men. It is a defence for the employer to show that the requirement is “a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”.
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