Blackstone's Guide to the Equality Act 2010

John Wadham

Oxford University Press, 2010 - Law - 494 pages

The Blackstone's Guide Series delivers concise and accessible books covering the latest legislative changes and amendments. Published soon after enactment, they offer expert commentary by leading names on the extent, scope, and effects of the legislation, plus a full copy of the Act itself. They offer a cost-effective solution to key information needs and are the perfect companion for any practitioner needing to get up to speed with the latest changes.
The Equality Act 2010 is the most significant reform of discrimination law in the UK. It contains significant changes to the law and consolidates the previous complex mass of statutory provisions into one statute. It brings in new rights against discrimination and imposes new duties on employers, service providers and public authorities. The Act will impose a new socio-economic duty on public authorities when making decisions of a strategic nature to have due regard to the desirability of exercising their functions in a way that is designed to reduce the inequalities of outcome which result from socio-economic disadvantage. It defines nine protected characteristics: age, disability, combined grounds, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. The new rights to protection include protection against discrimination in the provision of services, premises, work, and education.
This new Blackstone's Guide combines the full text of the Act with an expert narrative. It seeks to explain the scope and impact of the Act, including the civil liberties implications, and to bring practitioners up-to-date. Presented in a straightforward and logical layout, it enables ease of use as a reference source.

Contents

• LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS: xxvii
• TABLE OF CASES: xxxiii
• TABLE OF LEGISLATION: xli
• 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND: 1
• 2 PROTECTED CHARACTERISTICS: 13
• 3 CORE RIGHTS AND DUTIES: 31
• 4 EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS AND DUTIES STATUTORY OFFICE HOLDERS AND VOLUNTEERS: 55
• 5 SERVICES PUBLIC FUNCTIONS AND TRANSPORT: 79
• 6 PREMISES AND EDUCATION: 117
• 7 THE PUBLIC SECTOR EQUALITY DUTY AND THE SOCIOECONOMIC DUTY: 155
• 8 PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND TRANSPARENCY IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR: 173
• 9 ENFORCEMENT: 189
• 10 EQUALITY OF TERMS: 205
• POSITIVE ACTION ALL WOMEN SHORTLISTS ASSOCIATIONS AND TRADE UNION EQUALITY REPRESENTATIVES: 221
• 12 EUROPEAN UNION LAW AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT: 239
• EQUALITY ACT 2010: 261
• INDEX: 469

About the author

John Wadham is a solicitor and Group Director of the Legal Directorate of the new Equality and Human Rights Commission. He is the author of a number of other publications including the Blackstone's Guides to the Human Rights Act, the Freedom of Information Act and the Identity Cards Act. He was previously the Deputy Chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission and, before that, the Director of Liberty (the human rights organisation). He has acted for clients in most of the courts and tribunals in this country, including in the Court of Appeal and House of Lords but he specialised in cases before the European Commission and Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. David Ruebain has been a practising solicitor for 20 years. He is currently the Director of Legal Policy at the Equality and Human Rights Commission and previously headed a department of Education and Disability law with Levenes Solicitors. David is also an ADR Group Accredited Mediator and a founding member of The Times Newspaper Law Panel. David has published widely and taught nationally and internationally on education and disability law. He is the winner of RADAR's People of the Year Award for Achievement in the Furtherance of Human Rights of Disabled People in the UK, 2002 and was shortlisted for the Law Society's Gazette Centenary Award for Lifetime Achievement - Human Rights, in November 2003. In August 2006, he was listed as one of 25 Most Influential Disabled People in the UK by Disability Now Magazine. Anthony Robinson is a solicitor and non practising barrister and is the Director of Casework and Litigation at the ECHR. He was previously the Legal Director at the Commission for Racial Equality and prior to that worked in local government and in a law centre. He has a professional interest in equality and human rights as well as his previous areas of practice in education law, coroners law, public law and employment and pensions. He has acted in many notable cases in the tribunals as well as in all levels of the court system including the Court of Appeal and House of Lords. Susie Uppal is a solicitor and the Director of Legal Enforcement of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Prior to joining the EHRC in 2008, Susie spent a number of years as a solicitor in private practice. In 2003 Susie joined the Law Society, the regulatory body for Solicitors in England and Wales, to investigate members of the profession suspected of serious misconduct and/or breaches of the Society's Rules and Regulations. In 2006 Susie was appointed Head of Enforcement (Legal) for the Gambling Commission (GC), a non departmental public body established under the Gambling Act 2005. She was instrumental in establishing the GC's enforcement functions. During her time with the GC she became a member of the Whitehall Prosecutors Group and Government National Investigators Group. In her current role with the EHRC Susie is responsible for the Commission's Enforcement teams developing Enforcement policy and having overall conduct of the Commission's Enforcement actions.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Blackstone's Guide to the Equality Act 2010; The Blackstone's guide series
• Editor: John Wadham
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2010
• ISBN: 0199576106, 9780199576104
• Length: 494 pages
• Subjects: Law / Civil Rights; Law / Discrimination; Law / General; Law / Labor & Employment