BREAKING NEWS - Equality Bill completes passage through parliamentary process

On 6 April, the Equality Bill was approved by the House of Commons and is therefore expected to receive Royal Assent shortly. 

The Equality Act 2010 is due to be brought into force in stages to allow organisations time to prepare, though the majority of the provisions will come into force this October. 

The focus of the Act is to harmonise discrimination law, which has developed over the last 40 years. 

The Act will cover age, sex, disability, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment and sexual orientation. Marriage and civil partnerships will also be included, but not to the same extent as the other protected characteristics. In addition, the Act will also extend discrimination legislation to incorporate recent developments in case law. 

However, whilst this much awaited piece of legislation is about to enter the statute books, the result of the impending General Election could yet have impact on the Act, as the Conservatives have announced their intention to drop certain aspects of it.

Watch this space for a review of the key provisions of the Act and further updates on this significant piece of legislation in our future bulletins......

Back