Cymraeg

The Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 came into effect the1st October 2010 and repealed all the primary discrimination legislation (including the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, the Race Relations Act 1976, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Regulations concerning protection from discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, religion or belief and age) as well as many secondary pieces of legislation, bringing equality laws under one Act.

There are now nine “protected characteristics” (they used to be refereed to as equality strands), namely: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. In April 2011 legislation will be brought in that ensures that public bodies, including Fire and Rescue Services, will have a duty to promote equality on eight of these grounds (not marriage or civil partnership).

The Act also provides definitions of: direct discrimination; discrimination arising from disability; indirect discrimination; harassment; and victimisation.

The Act introduces a new general public sector equality duty that will come into force in April 2011. This means that the public sector, including Fire and Rescue Services must:

Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited under the Act;
Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; and
Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it

The Welsh Government developed specific equality duties for Wales based on our needs. The specific equality duties should help us meet the general duty. They are:

Regulation 3: Equality Objectives
Regulation 4: Preparation and review of equality objectives
Regulation 5: Engagement provisions and Regulation
Regulation 6: Accessibility of published information
Regulation 7: Arrangements for collection of information about compliance with the general duty
Regulation 8: Impact and monitoring of policies and practices
Regulation 9, 10, 11 and 12: Collection and reporting of employment information, training, pay and Action Plans
Regulation 13: Review of arrangements
Regulation 14 and 15: The Strategic Equality Plan
Regulation 16: Reports by relevant Welsh authorities with the general duty
Regulation 17: Reports by Welsh Minister on compliance with the general duty by relevant Welsh authorities
Regulation 18: Public Procurement
Regulation 19: Compliance with duties by Welsh Ministers
Regulation 20: Disclosure of information

Contact Details

Carey Wood-Duffy – Diversity Officer

email: C-wood-duffy@southwales-fire.gov.uk
Tel: 01443 232749