Government responds to consultation on repeal of parts of Equality Act 2010

In October, the Government published its response to consultation on proposals to repeal Equality Act 2010 provisions giving:

• powers to employment tribunals to make wider recommendations in discrimination cases
• the procedure for obtaining information to inform employment tribunal decision making
• employer liability for harassment of employees by third parties

For the first of the two provisions above, the government received 157 responses to the consultation. Of these, just 12% agreed with the Governments proposals to repeal; 83% were opposed. However, the Government has decided to go ahead with its decision to repeal both the wider recommendations provisions and the obtaining information provisions.

For the third of the provisions above, the Government received 80 responses. 20% agreed with the Governments proposals to repeal; 80% were opposed. Again, however, the Government has decided to go ahead with its decision to repeal this part of the Act.

The TUC has responded strongly to these decisions. This is what the TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber had to say:

‘Getting rid of third party harassment will make working life even harder for the thousands of care home staff, teachers and health workers who suffer prejudice and abuse from those they are trying to help. And taking away the power of tribunals to make recommendations to employers will make it much more difficult to deal with employers who serially bully and discriminate against their staff’.

Click here for TUC press release on 10 October 2012