- Mar 2021
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labour.org.uk labour.org.uk
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8. It requires all public sector organisations to actively consider how what they do, every day, affects all of us – not just some
This is really a very poor description of the Public Sector Equality Duty under the Act.
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Businesses, healthcare providers or employers can’t single out trans people thanks to the act. Trans people continue to face stigma and discrimination but this Act has helped strengthen their legal rights.
This gives those who meet the criterion in the Act for the protected characteristic of 'gender reassignment' addition rights that others do not have.
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1. It protects all of us from discrimination – wherever you are The Act legally protects you from being treated differently by your employer, school or college. It also means you can’t be treated differently when you use public services, like the hospital or the doctors, and even at your local shops and restaurants.
This fails to mention that some discrimination is lawful under the Act, such as that provided by the single-sex exemption.
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3. The Act protects against discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, ethnic origins, faith, age and nationality
Why is the protected characteristic of sex not listed? Is this omission incompetence or deliberate?
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faith
The protected characteristic is 'religion or belief', not 'faith'.
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- Oct 2020
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www.legislation.gov.uk www.legislation.gov.uk
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Participation, E. (n.d.). Equality Act 2010 [Text]. Statute Law Database. Retrieved October 15, 2020, from https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/149
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- Aug 2018
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www.wycombe.gov.uk www.wycombe.gov.uk
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gender
Wycombe District Council have got this wring. Gender ius NOT a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, sex is.
According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission:
'Gender’ refers to socially constructed roles of women and men and/or an individual’s conception of their identity. The term is often used interchangeably with ‘sex’, partly in recognition that much of the inequality between women and men is driven by underlying social and power structures rather than by biological sex. Although the Equality Act protects people from discrimination because of their sex, other UK legislation (such as the regulations requiring employers to publish their gender pay gap) refers to gender. This may cause confusion in some circumstances.
Language and the meaning of words are important and proper understanding of these terms is vital so that staff and the public are aware of what rights they have and what your Public Sector Equality Duty is.
Mis-stating the protected characteristics under the Act cannot give a good impression to the public and it can only reflect poorly on the organisation. Any confusion or inconsistency over meaning of undefined terms may prevent people from accessing their rights under the law.
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