05 April 2011

Equality Act - Second Phase

The second phase of the Equality Act comes into force on the 5th April 2011. On this date, the Public Sector General Equality Duty will come into force, replacing the current public sector duties in the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and the Equality Act 2006.

The Public Sector General Equality Duty requires public bodies to have due regard to the need to:
- eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010;
- advance equality of opportunity between people from different groups; and
- foster good relations between people from different groups.

The Public Sector Specific Equality Duties, which were also due to come into force on 5th April 2011, have recently been withdrawn by the Government pending further review. It is expected that the revised specific duties will be implemented in July 2011.

For full details of the action being taken by the University towards implementing the general equality duty please look at our web pages www.shef.ac.uk/hr/equality and our Excellence through Inclusion action plans www.shef.ac.uk/hr/equality/focus/eti