Why a new act?

The main intention of the act is to simplify the 40 years' worth (116 separate pieces) of equalities legislation and protections against discrimination.

By harmonising a range of older legislation which was often written for specific equalities strands (e.g. gender or disability); the new act strengthens and provides a new cross-cutting legislative framework.

This framework seeks to protect the rights of individuals and advance the concept of equality of opportunity for all, and reduce inequality of outcomes. Most of the Equalities Act came into force in October 2010, although some provisions arrive later in 2011 and 2012.

What's new?

On 12 January 2011 the Government confirmed that a new public sector Equality Duty will be brought into force on 6 April 2011. The act and new single duty is formed around 'protected characteristics' – these have broader definitions than those used in previous legislation. An individual can pursue a claim that they have been discriminated against or victimised against any of these characteristics, or characteristics in combination.

Existing law defined unlawful discrimination in four ways:

• direct discrimination
• indirect discrimination
• harassment
• victimisation

The new act 'levels up' the protection across the different characteristics and also protects people who are discriminated against because they are perceived to have a protected characteristic. For example, recent case law has focussed on homophobic abuse of individuals irrespective of their actual sexual orientation.

The act also allows for someone who is associated with someone who has a protected characteristic to also be protected themselves – the most regularly quoted example of this is someone who cares for someone who has a disability.

On 2 December 2010 the government announced that it will bring into force a new provision which will help employers achieve a more diverse workforce by giving them the option, when faced with candidates of equal merit, to choose a candidate from an under-represented group

The nine protected characteristics are:

• Age - where this is referred to, it refers to a person belonging to a particular age group (e.g. 32 year olds) or range of ages (e.g. 18 to 30 year olds).
• Disability - a person has a disability if she or he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on that person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
• Gender reassignment – the process of changing from one gender to another – there is no longer a requirement to show 'medical supervision'.
• Marriage and civil partnership - marriage is defined as a 'union between a man and a woman'. Same-sex couples can have their relationships legally recognised as 'civil partnerships'. Civil partners must be treated the same as married couples on a wide range of legal matters.
• Pregnancy and maternity - pregnancy is the condition of being pregnant or expecting a baby. Maternity refers to the period after the birth, and is linked to maternity leave in the employment context. In the non-work context, protection against maternity discrimination is for 26 weeks after giving birth, and this includes treating a woman unfavourably because she is breastfeeding.
• Race refers to a group of people defined by their race, colour, and nationality (including citizenship), ethnic or national origins.
• Religion and belief - religion has the meaning usually given to it but belief includes religious and philosophical beliefs including lack of belief (e.g. Atheism). Generally, a belief should affect your life choices or the way you live for it to be included in the definition.
• Sex – a man or a woman.
• Sexual orientation - whether a person's sexual attraction is towards their own sex, the opposite sex, both sexes or none.

What does it mean for United Residents Housing and your TMO?

In future we will need to consider at least all nine protected characteristics when carrying out Equality Impact Assessments and devising strategies and policies, to ensure that they are compliant with legislation and do not discriminate on these grounds.

As an organisation, we need to ensure that board members, staff, contractors and partners are aware of the different ways in which unlawful discrimination can occur – and be confident that we take the necessary steps to ensure that our policies, procedures and practices do not lead to unlawful discrimination, or to inadvertent discrimination or exclusion.

We will also have an increased duty to make adjustments to communal areas for disabled people where it is reasonable for us to do so, particularly so when we modernise or refurbish premises or neighbourhoods.

The original provision for mandatory gender pay reporting and addressing socio-economic duties have been rejected by the new National Government, however through our strategic commitment the Social Housing Equality Framework we will continue to carry out work in these areas.

Clearer protection for breastfeeding mothers has also been introduced, and ensure our customer outlets are "breastfeeding friendly"