Two-thirds of bosses unprepared for Equality Act

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According to a new survey, two-thirds of employers are unprepared for the introduction of the Equality Act just weeks before it comes into force.

In the research conducted by Personnel Today, 66% of respondents admitted that their organisation was not fully ready for the new legislation, which goes live on 1 October.

The Equality Act replaces previous legislation such as the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and aims to ensure consistency in what you need to do to make your workplace a fair environment and to comply with the law.

The Equality Act covers the same groups that were protected by existing equality legislation – age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity – but extends some protections to groups not previously covered, and also strengthens particular aspects of equality law.

Workingmums.co.uk recently reported on new forms published by the Government allowing employees to pose questions to their employer to determine whether or not they have been discriminated against under the Equality Act 2010.