A chance for all

The long-awaited Equality Bill is going through Parliament. The bill’s provisions will affect social landlords, both as employers and service providers. Although it will be some time before it comes into force, social landlords should start thinking about where changes to policy and practice will be needed.

The bill will consolidate the UK’s extensive existing equality legislation - 116 pieces of it - into one act. It is expected to receive royal assent in spring 2010, with the majority of measures coming into force in autumn 2010. Certain provisions, such as the new public sector duties and age discrimination, will come later.

Measures that affect all employers Of particular interest to landlords and managers of residential properties is a new duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled tenants in respect of common areas.

Age discrimination in the provision of services to those under 18 will be outlawed. The government has stressed this will not affect treatment which is beneficial or justified.

Associative discrimination and harassment - discrimination because someone is associated with someone else who would fall under anti-discrimination laws - will be unlawful across all strands of discrimination legislation. In discrimination claims, tribunals will be given the power to make recommendations for actions by the employer which affect the whole workforce, not just the individual who brought the claim.

Employers will be able to take positive steps to recruit groups which are under-represented in their workforce where they have a choice between two candidates who are equally suitable. However, this is not the same as allowing positive discrimination, which will still be unlawful.

For the public sector

Certain aspects of the bill only apply to the public sector but these are also likely to affect registered providers which carry out a public function.
Age discrimination laws will be extended from the workplace to the carrying out of public functions, including health and social care, so that it will be unlawful to discriminate against anyone aged over 18. A government review into the practical action that is needed to tackle age discrimination in the health and social care sector will report in October this year. It is proposed that public bodies with more than 150 employees will be required to publish details of their gender pay gap, and ethnic minority and disability employment rate every year.

Existing duties will be extended across all strands of discrimination law to listed public bodies (and private bodies delivering a public function). The list of public bodies to which this new duty will apply has not yet been published but a public consultation is under way. It is clear that public bodies will be able to use the procurement process to promote equality.

Most controversially, there will be a new duty on government departments, local authorities and NHS bodies to consider what action they can take to reduce so called ‘socio-economic’ inequalities, that is, family background or place of birth. This will affect how public bodies make strategic decisions about spending and service delivery.

Rebecca McGuirk is a partner at Shoosmiths. rebecca.mcguirk@shoosmiths.co.uk

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