Repeal the Equality Laws -

Are We There Yet?

• There has been much debate recently over whether we in the UK ought to
repeal parts of the Equality Act 2010. The argument made by some is, today, it is
(or they are) surplus to requirements, rather otiose. I believe the argument ought
to be extended beyond those that have attracted recent headlines (‘race’ etc.) to
include all the protective characteristics and, potentially, more. When I read the
article, “Bullying of gay civil servants ‘ignored,’” in The Sunday Times on 15 March
2015, p13, not only was I deeply troubled by its content but I reminded myself of
a quotation I cited many years ago in a booklet I wrote. “It is a pity,” said Mr
Reginald Maudling MP during the Second reading of the Race Relations Bill 1968,
“that a Bill of this character should be thought necessary. In a sense, it is a human
failure that it should be necessary to proceed by legislation in these matters.
Compulsion should not be necessary to ensure that men and women live happily
together and treat one another in a decent and civilised manner.” In my view, this
remark could and should be extended to all the statutory protective
characteristics of the Equality Act 2010 and more.
• So, if we were to be free of the Equality Act 2010 and other anti-
discriminatory laws, will we return to the ‘wrongs’/’human failure’
the anti-discriminatory laws seek to address, bearing in mind that we
have moved from, in part, a position of onlycompensating for
breaches of the laws to both compensating and a ‘public’ duty of
promoting equality etc? This is a move from
compensation/punishment for the negative to include
promotion of the positive (I accept, of course, that one person’s
‘positive’ could be another person’s ‘negative’). The other questions
are, will matters ‘improve’ (as defined by each of us) or remain as is,
the status quo? I leave that for people to decide and to form their
own views.
• Below is an extract from an article I wrote: Equality Act 2010: Time for
Review? - Employment Law Practice: An Expert Guide, Solicitors
Journal - Special Report, pp35-37
• “The Equality Act 2010 has been with us for over 4 years. Some of the
protected characteristics such as race and sex have been unlawful in
the UK for well over 30 years. However, is it time for those
characteristics protected under the statute to be reviewed and
revised in accordance with leading current good practices in the
workplace? I think so. […]
• “For example, before the Equality Act 2010, which came into force on 1
October 2010, many practitioners would have been familiar with the Equal
Pay Act 1970, Sex Discrimination 1975, Race Relations Act 1976 and, many
years later, Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The now familiar
discrimination on the grounds of age, gender reassignment, religion or
belief and sexual orientation did not become unlawful until 1 October
2006. However, long before 1 October 2006 it was not uncommon to find
employers’ staff handbook making it unlawful for their staff to discriminate
and or be discriminated against on the grounds of age, gender
reassignment, religion or belief and sexual orientation etc. This is clearly an
example of diversity awareness and inclusion practice in the workplace that
is based on not having to do so by law but due to what some might
perceive as good practice. Therein lies, in part, a criticism of the Equality
Act 2010. It appears not to lead but to follow. […]
• “At s4 of the Equality Act 2010 age; disability; gender reassignment;
marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race;
religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation are protective
characteristics. There is a good argument that such an exhaustive list
leads to employers, services and goods providers to focus on
achieving the minimum in order to comply with the statute and no
more. […]
• “If the Equality Act 2010 is lagging behind what some employers are
already practising and making unlawful in the workplace, now might
be a perfect time for a full review to be undertaken, involving all
stakeholders, to determine whether or not the current statutory
protected characteristics meet or ought to meet good current
practice in the workplace.”
• Of course, my focus on the above extract was on employment and the
workplace only. However, the question remains, are the good works of
practitioners in equality, diversity awareness & inclusion now
redundant? Has demand diminished the need for supply? Whatever
conclusion at which one arrives I simply invite one to consider one of my
favourite quotations of recent times, which I repeat without apology. On
receiving the Stephen P. Duggan award for international understanding
from the Institute for International Education in New York on 27 November
2001, Kofi Annan, the then UN Secretary-General, said “none of us is born
intolerant of those who differ from us. Intolerance is taught and can be
untaught.” Whether or not anti-discriminatory laws are a relevant part of
that lesson on tolerance and more or deemed obsolete is a serious
question to address, not just by politicians but by us all, and not to be
decided upon lightly.
• http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents
(Equality Act 2010)

• https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bullying-of-gay-civil-servants-
ignored-cb892qsvs8d
(Bullying of Gay Civil Servants Ignored)

• https://youtu.be/B424twVcTAA
(Equality Act 2010 by Ryan Clement)