Equality Act 2010

Question 1

What characteristics are protected by the Equality Act 2010?

Answer 1

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

Question 2

What are the types of discrimination?

Answer 2

• Direct discrimination
• Indirect discrimination
• Harassment
• Victimisation

Question 3

What is direct discrimination?

Answer 3

Occurs where because of a protected characteristic, A treats B less favourably than A treats or would treat others.

E.g. A dance club deletes a woman from its list as soon as she learns she is pregnant.

Question 4

What is indirect discrimination?

Answer 4

Concerned with acts, decisions or policies which are not intended to treat anyone less favourably but which have the effect of disadvantaging a group of people with a protected characteristic.

Will not be discrimination if it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

E.g. employer requiring full time work may indirectly discriminate against a woman with child care responsibilities unless the employer can objectively justify the need for a full-time worker to do the job.

Question 4

Three definitions of harassment?

Answer 4

Three definitions:

• general definition: harassment related to a protected characteristic
• conduct of a sexual nature
• less favourable treatment because of a person’s rejection of or submission to harassment of a sexual nature or harassment related to sex or gender reassignment.

Question 5

General definition of harassment

Answer 5

A harasses B if A engages in unwanted conduct related to a relevant characteristic which has the purpose or effect of either:
- violating B’s dignity; or
- creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for B

In deciding whether conduct shall be regarded as having the required effect, the following must be taken into account:
- B’s perception
- the other circumstances of the case
- whether it is reasonable for the conduct to have that effect

E.g. two male shop assistants loudly commented on the size of a female shopper’s breasts.

Question 6

What is victimisation?

Answer 6

Victimisation occurs where A subjects B to a detriment either because:
- B has done a protected act, or
- A believes B has done or may do a protected act.

Protected Acts:
- bringing proceedings under the Equality Act
- giving evidence or information in connection with proceedings under the Equality Act 2010, regardless of who brought those proceedings
- doing any other thing for the purposes of or in connection with the Equality Act 2010
- Alleging that A or another person has contravened the Equality Act 2010

E.g. banning someone from a pub for suing a publican at that pub for discrimination

Question 7

What do the disability provisions require?

Answer 7

They require the taking of active/positive steps to reduce the barriers that disabled people may face.

Question 8

Who has a duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010?

Answer 8

A service-provider concerned with the provision of a service to the public or a section of the public (for payment or not) must not discriminate against a person requiring the service by not providing the person with the service.

Includes:
- terms on which A provides the service to B
- by terminating the provision of the service to B
- by subjecting B to any other detriment

Question 9

What is meant by ‘anticipatory’ duty?

Answer 9

Means a service provider cannot wait until a disabled person wants to use the service. Must think in advance (and on an ongoing basis) about what disables people with a range of impairments might reasonable need.

Question 10

What are the three requirements that apply in situations where a disabled person would otherwise be placed at a substantial disadvantage?

Answer 10

1) changing the way things are done (provision, criterion or practice): relates to the way of doing things or rules whether written or unwritten that could present barriers. Involves stopping practice completely or changing it

2) making changes to overcome barriers created by the physical features of premises if these are open to the public or a section of it. Must take reasonable steps to remove the feature, alter it, provide reasonable means of avoiding it, provide alternative method (alt service should be last resort)

3) providing extra aids and services (eg extra equipment), must take reasonable steps to provide auxiliary aids or services if their would enable or make it easier for disabled people to make use of the service.