I think I first remember hearing the phrase ‘its political correctness gone mad’ in a spitting image sketch in the 1980s. I can’t remember what the sketch was about – but the Daily Mail was mentioned.
As an employment lawyer who spends a lot of time training managers on discrimination issues, I know that ‘PCGM’ features strongly in many of their initial concerns about getting to grips with discrimination law and I hope that the training I give helps to dispel some of the myths that have grown up around what, I insist, is a very common sense area of the law.
Continue reading ‘Political Correctness Gone Mad!’
The Equality Bill has been scheduled for its second reading in the Commons on 11th May (A week on Monday). Second reading debates are always frustrating (in the Commons at least) because so few of the MPs will be sufficiently familiar with discrimination law to talk about the detail. The real work starts when the Bill goes into Committee.
Another thought on the Equality Bill’s provisions on disability discrimination. Clause 14 of the Bill is designed to address the House of Lords’ judgment in Lewisham v Malcolm which essentially rendered the current definition of ‘disability related’ discrimination meaningless.
But I have been staring at Clause 14 for 2 days now – and the fact is, it doesn’t make any sense.
Continue reading ‘Equality Bill – disability discrimination’
The frustrating thing about news reports on the Equality Bill is their concentration on the least important – but most political aspects of the Bill. Take the ‘socio-economic duty’. This is a duty placed on public bodies to ‘have due regard’ to the desirability of exercising their functions in a way that is designed to reduce the inequalities in outcome that result from socio-economic disadvantage.
In deciding how to do that the public body must take account of any guidance issues by a Minister.
Continue reading ‘What the Equality Bill is Not About’
Well – no sense of anti-climax at all. There are all sorts of intriguing details in the Bill and obviously I have only had the opportunity to scan it briefly. It is clear however that the law on disability discrimination is being transformed and I will post a separate analysis of this shortly. Generally, the biggest change to the law in employment terms is the introduction of positive discrimination in clauses 152 and 153. This is much wider than expected and is not limited to recruitment. There is a general ability to discriminate in favour of underrepresented groups if certain conditions are met and it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. In recruitment and promotion there is an ability to discriminate where ‘A is as qualified as B to be recruited or promoted’ and the purpose is to improve equality. I can’t find a definition of when A is to be regarded as ‘as qualified’ as B. This is a big change, and I expect these provisions to undergo some amendment before they are passed
Continue reading ‘First Impressions of the Equality Bill’
The Government is committed to introducing a single equality bill in this Parliament which brings together all of the different discrimination strands into one piece of legislation. Apparently this will not just be a consolidation Act because the plan is to simplify and clarify the law as well as put it all under one roof. There is also a clear need to overhaul the law on disability discrimination which has been rendered incredibly uncertain by a number of recent decisions in the courts. Add to this new rules on age discrimination in goods and services and reforms to the public sector duties to promote equality and we are looking at a large and very complicated Bill.
So will it happen?
Continue reading ‘Waiting for the Equality Bill’
