The Equality Act 2010

 The Equality Act 2010 has brought together all the previous existing equality statutory instruments under one heading and simplified issues pertaining to issues of inequalities. It has simplified the law, removed inconsistencies and made it easier to be understood. Additionally the law has also been strengthened so that individuals and organisations can tackle issues around discrimination and Inequality. 

 The Equality Act covers the groups that were previously protected by existing equality legislation, however it has also been broadened to cover other “protected characteristics”  

·         Disability (linked to any aspect of inequalities associated as a result of any disability)

·         Gender reassignment

·         Age

·         Transgender people (transgender is where someone has changed, is changing or has proposed changing their sex – called ‘gender reassignment’ in law)

·         Race

·         Religion or belief

·         Sex

·         Sexual orientation ( refers to individuals being lesbian, gay, bisexual or heterosexual)

·         Marriage and civil partnership and

·         Pregnancy and maternity

The Act also strengthens particular aspects of equality law addressing concerns of individuals that were not covered before.

 The law applies to both the provision of services and also to the employment of staff.  It covers discrimination, harassment and victimisation. For further information click on the following link:

www.homeoffice.gov.uk/equalities/equality-act

In order to embed equality within the day-to-day operations and make performance on equality within service delivery and workforce more robust, we are adopting the NHS Equality Delivery System (EDS) as part of our framework for managing equality and diversity. The EDS is designed as a performance and quality assurance mechanism for the NHS and as a means by which NHS organisations can meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010.

 

Our aim is that the Equality and Diversity Framework will not simply be a document that fulfils our legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 but rather it will be the expected way of working in the Trust which will help us to operate and create an environment that actively tackles inequalities.