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- Equality Act 2010
- Protected Characteristics
- Equality Data
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- Reporting discrimination
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- Equality Impact Assessments
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Equality Act 2010
The Equality Act came into force on 1 October 2010 and strengthened previous anti-discrimination law by consolidating over 116 separate pieces of legislation. The Act extends to cover the rights of staff and students (including prospective staff and students) and protects against discrimination because of nine protected characteristics.
The protected characteristics under the Equality Act are:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment
- Marriage and civil partnership
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Race
- Religion or belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
The associated public sector Equality Duty came into force on 5 April 2011 and requires the University to have due regard to the need to:
- Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act.
- Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
- Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
The Equality Duty is supported by specific duties which require public bodies to publish relevant, proportionate information demonstrating their compliance with the Equality Duty.
Prior to the Equality Duty, the University published equality data via Annual Reports; ; Equality Objectives & Action Plans; and Equality Impact Assessments. Data will continue to be published via these sources, however, this and further data will also be available on the Equality Data page.
Further information about the Equality Act 2010
Home Office Equality Act Information
Equality Challenge Unit guidance for higher education institutions
Online Diversity in the Workplace resource, includes scenarios and practical examples of implications of the Equality Act in the workplace (staff login and registration required)
