Equality and Inclusion

Key Legislation

The Council is legally required to ensure its employees and customers are treated fairly and equally under the following Acts:

 

1. Equal Pay Act 1970 (This seeks to ensure that all employees are paid the same for work of equal value.)
2. Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (This prohibits job discrimination on the basis of gender.)
3. Race Relations Act 1976 (This prohibits discrimination in delivery of services & employment on the basis of ethnicity.) and the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 (This gives a general duty to take a positive and systematic approach to eliminate racial discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and promote good race relations.  It requires local authorities to draw up Race Equality Schemes for policy, service delivery & employment.  Producing a Race Equality Scheme became a specific duty for local authorities in 2002.)
4. Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (This prohibits discrimination in delivery of services & employment on the basis of disability and requires positive action on, for example, making public buildings accessible.)
5. Human Rights Act 1998 (This confers a range of rights including, for example, the right to family life, which have implications for the way local authorities deliver services and manage their workforce.)
6. The Employment Equality (religion or belief and sexual orientation) Regulations 2003 (These prohibit discrimination in recruitment and employment practices on the basis of religious or other beliefs – such as atheism – or sexual orientation.)

 

In addition the Local Government Act 2000 requires Local Authorities (and other public bodies) to provide community leadership and to promote equality.  In 2002 local authorities (and other public bodies) were given a new general duty requiring them to give due regard to the need to:

 

• Eliminate unlawful racial discrimination,
• Promote equal opportunities; and
• Promote race equality.

The same act also created a specific duty to produce a Race Equality Scheme in which the Council must set out in detail what action will be taken in relation to policies and services and employment.

In 2006 new legislation – the Disability Discrimination Act 2006 - required local authorities (and other public bodies) to promote disability equality in employment and service provision.  Each authority is required to have a Disability Equality Scheme, developed in consultation with disabled people, by December 2006. The 1995 Disability Discrimination Act already imposes duties to:

 

1. Amend policies, procedures and practices which prevent disabled people using a service
2. Remove or alter physical barriers
3. Remove or alter communication barriers
4. Provide auxiliary aids (such as audio tapes, sign language, interpreters and induction loops) where reasonable and readily achievable.

 

Local authorities will also be required, under legislation coming into force in April 2007, to develop a Gender Equality Scheme to ensure that their policies, employment practices and services meet the different needs of women and men.  Age discrimination regulations come into force in October 2007 and will require the development of an Age Equality Scheme.

 

Please note. The terms ‘service’ and ‘services’ should be understood to also cover the practices and procedures involved in delivering the service and the terms ‘policy’ and ‘policies’ should be understood to also cover strategies.

 

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