Equality Act Amendments

On November 8 2023, the Government published draft amendments to equality legislation in the Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (the Regulations). The Regulations, which relate to the Equality Act 2010, come into force on 1 January 2024.

The main amendments include:

1. The ability to claim indirect discrimination by association – this will now be expanded to cover a person who doesn’t hold a relevant protected characteristic but does suffer the same disadvantages as those that do under the employer’s provision criteria or practice.
2. An amendment to the guidance on the definition of disability, namely, to specify that considering a person’s capability to participate fully and effectively in relation to their working life (on the same basis with other workers) is important when looking at daily activities.
3. A ‘single-source’ test in relation to setting up an equal pay comparator – the thought behind this is so that if a comparator is set up it could work provided that the body responsible for setting the terms is the same.
4.  Statements in relation to not wanting to recruit people with certain protected characteristics (even when there is no active recruitment process or no victim) will now be covered by direct discrimination.
5. Breastfeeding will class as a protected characteristic of sex in relation to employment discrimination.
   These amendments are another example of retained EU law that is being implemented into UK law and which would otherwise have been lost due to Brexit. Please see our website for more information on other EU retained laws.