Equality Act now in force
Today, 1st October, marks the commencement of the Equality Act
2010. The Act will have a significant impact on employers and there
are some things employers need to do, or stop doing, now to avoid
the risk of discrimination claims.
As well as bringing almost all anti-discrimination and equality
laws together in one place, the Equality Act goes further than ever
before to make employers actually achieve equality in the
workplace. It does not impose quotas, but it does require employers
and their workers to change certain attitudes – particularly to
their tolerance of harassment in the workplace.
Don’t make the mistake of assuming the Equality Act won’t affect
your business – check out our action plan below to see what impact
it might have.
Your 3-step action plan
1. Understand the basics now
You can’t possibly learn everything about the Equality Act
straight away, but it’s important to know about the key changes as
soon as possible to avoid falling into some traps and running the
risk of discrimination claims.
- Our Equality Act pages on MentorLive contain a growing
set of resources, including Frequently Asked Questions and quick
tutorials on what’s new.
2. Consider training your line managers
It’s important that your managers and supervisors know what to
do differently from the way they do things now. Changes to
Recruitment and handling grievances are key areas they need to know
about.
- Why not ask them to try their hand at our e-learning module –
it covers all the basics and should only take them 20 minutes to
complete.
3. Update your guidance documents
Your manuals will need updating to reflect the changes
- Clients can download and print off updated policies and
procedures to file in your Personnel Guidance System or Managing
Employees Toolkit. Look under “Downloads” in
MentorLive.
Help when it’s needed
We know you don’t spend all day thinking about employment law,
but when you do need advice and support, your regional team of
consultants is here to help.
Always call our telephone advice service first, and you’ll speak
to someone who is dedicated to supporting your business through
changes such as the Equality Act.
If you are not yet a Mentor client, please visit our
Equality Act pages or call us on 0800
634 7004 to find out how we can help you ensure you are fully
compliant with this legislative change.