
Equality and Diversity
The Equality Act 2010 is a piece of legislation, which came into force in October 2010. The legislation was created to pull together over 116 separate pieces of legislation into one single act.
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The act protects individuals from discrimination. The main pieces of legislation brought together by the act are:
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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
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What is Discrimination?
Discrimination is when you are thought of as having different value and worth; when you are treated differently or given fewer opportunities because of the following:
· Your age.
· Your marital status.
· You are / are becoming a transsexual person.
· You are pregnant or having a child.
· You have a disability.
· Your race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin).
· Your religion, beliefs or lack of beliefs.
· Your sex.
· Your sexual orientation.
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There are 3 types of discrimination:
1. Direct Discrimination
When a person is treated less favourably than another person would be treated, for example: You are refused a job because you are male / female.
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2. Indirect Discrimination
When a requirement, which is applied to everyone, is a disadvantage to a group of people, for example: Everyone who works on the shop floor must remove all head wear, this would discriminate those whose religion it is to cover their head.
3. Victimisation
When a person is treated less favourably because, they have made a complaint under the Equality Act.
What is Bullying and Harassment?
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Bullying and harassment is when someone is made to feel intimidated, upset, stressed and offended.
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Examples of bullying and harassment:
· Verbal abuse and taunting.
· Racist / Sexist / Sexual comments or jokes.
· Ignoring someone.
· Intrusive questioning.
· Unwanted physical contact.
· Unfair allocation of work.
· Circulation or display of offensive materials.
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Bullying and harassment can take place face to face, over the telephone, by letter, by email, by social media and by text.
What is Diversity?
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Diversity means the understanding that everyone is unique; everyone has differences, that each individual should be treated with an equal level of respect and should have equal access to the same opportunities.
Imagine how boring the world would be if everyone was the same...
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For more information on the Equality Act 2010 and related issues you can contact the below organisations:
Equality and Human Rights Commission - www.equalityhumanrights.com
Equality Advisory and Support Service - www.equalityadvisoryservice.com
Gov.uk – www.gov.uk