Several UK laws feed into workplace Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) practices. The Equality Act 2010 is perhaps the most important and it was created to collate all previous UK acts related to equality and employment.
Ireland has the Equal Status Acts 2000-2018 and the EU has Directive 2000/78/EC. These acts were approved by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The Equality Act 2010 is most important for WISE members since we are a UK-based organisation.
This piece of legislation prohibits discrimination against employees and service users because of particular characteristics. Companies that do discriminate against employees or service users with these characteristics may fall foul of the law.
Nine characteristics are highlighted and protected by the act. They are:
• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex / gender
• Sexual orientation