Nine Ladies, Children, Elderly, Young, Disabled, Dancing - The Importance of Equality
The Equality Act is relied upon and used in every sphere of our daily lives, it’s prevalent wherever we work or live.
The definition by the Oxford English Dictionary is -the fact of being equal in rights, status, advantages, etc.racial/social/sexual equality, equality of opportunity, the principle of equality before the law (= the law treats everyone the same)
The Equality Act of 2010 brought together over 116 separate pieces of legislation into one single Act. The Act provides a legal framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all. It provides Great Britain with a discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society.
The property sector, lettings in particular, deals with all elements of the Equality Act, not only in regards the employer-employee relationship, but also when dealing with landlords and tenants. It is not easy to navigate the legislation in question, which is why the nine main pieces of legislation were merged into one:
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the Equal Pay Act 1970
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the Sex Discrimination Act 1975
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the Race Relations Act 1976
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the Disability Discrimination Act 1995
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the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
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the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
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the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006
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the Equality Act 2006, Part 2
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the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007
The Equality Act 2010 made the law easier to understand and strengthened protection in some situations. It sets out the different ways in which it’s unlawful to treat someone.
What are protected characteristics?
It is against the law to discriminate against someone because of:
The Home Office states that “We incorporate equality into our core objectives, making every effort to eliminate discrimination, create equal opportunities and develop good working relationships between different people.” However, the way that society evolves and changes daily means that true equality appears to elude society.