The Equality Act of 2010 - Essay Example

The equality law depicts an enactment that came to being in the United Kingdom following the need to enhance the existing victimization laws. The law, therefore, established to strengthen the existing laws by giving a more concise outline on issues that the previous laws did omit. The act also made the contents of the existing acts simpler for the awareness of the laws to all attributes of the comprehension. The law, therefore, was set to be a landmark in the fight against all forms of socioeconomic discriminations. However, the objectives of the action exist hand in hand with other variables that significantly determine the excellence of the fight against discrimination. The law, therefore, has inducements outside the context of its content. Some of the factors affect the victims and therefore the victims do not come forward to report the various cases. Other variables are dependent on the awareness procedures. Moreover, other factors influence the law enforcing institutions. The following essay illuminates on the multiple instances that the law has achievements and the instances that have been a total failure. In the different proposals, the script provides cases for simple illustration of the statements that the article describes. A reference list appears at the completion of the report. The main purpose is to authenticate the propositions therein. The Equality Act Of 2010 The act is an establishment whose primary focus is the prevention of the discrimination acts that occur within the premises of the business or in the wider society. The bill came to being as a replacement to the other existing laws prior to the year 2010. The main difference that the law was to make was the simplification of all the antidiscrimination laws into simple laws that are much easier to understand (Easton, 2012, p. 25). The laws were, therefore, set to be easily understood by all community members in the attempt of creating awareness and eliminating ignorance. Another perspective for the new laws is was to serve as reinforcement to the existing anti-bias laws. The issue was the strengthening of the protection especially in some situations. Characteristics of the law The law protects several populations who fall under different categories. The population includes minors, those who belong to the ageing population, the persons with special needs or the disabled, the reassignment of gender and the race nature. In addition, there is the characteristic of the religion background, the sex and gender and the social partnership that may be a marriage or be a civic agreement. All of the characteristics are components of the act, and there are clear outlines of the extent that makes up a discrimination act and the resultant measure to correct the action (Clucas, 2012, p. 940). People who take responsibility in the law The action put different people to make sure that the law is in effect. The law touches the departments of the government and all the service providers in the region. The employers and all the providers of education relating to schools, colleges and universities are part of the institutions that carry the responsibility of the act (Hand, 2012, p. 13). Furthermore, the hosts of all public functions, all the associations and the providers of transport also fall within the responsibility circle. The unwanted conducts as per the act Discrimination The law protects the different components from discrimination. An act of discrimination is constituent to various forms. The types include direct discrimination, the discrimination of a combined characteristics and the discrimination that is as a result of disability. Moreover, discrimination includes the reassignment of genders, the discrimination from pregnancies and maternity as well as all implied discrimination that may be indirect (Butlin, 2011, p. 15). All persons male or female, with disability or not and regardless of their ethnicity, should have equal chances for recruitment into the organization and respect in the working environment. Adjustments for persons with special needs The people with disabilities should not be subject to lack of changes in the work premises in order to suit their needs. Therefore, failure to undertake the adjustment is an act of discrimination. The work regulations should also be considerate of the person with disabilities. Passages and working surfaces friendly to persons with disabilities should every organization’s concern. Discriminating as a result of disability The act depicts that it is unlawful for the placement of bias due to a person having disability. For instance, people whose minds tend to have the disadvantage of coding data into a computer since they have sight impairments. Therefore, employers could roll out such kind of employees during the recruitment that is unlawful (Manthorpe, 2013, p. 17 Harassment The action takes place due to the incapacitation of a person due to disability or disadvantage that the victim might host. The act thus involves the prohibited conduct that a person carries out purposely with the objective of violating the dignity of another person. On the other hand, the violation may be in an attempt to create fear through the creation of an environment that is hostile, offensive, humiliating as well as degrading. Such conditions tend to demoralize the victims and in the end affect their productivity, due to the tension aggravating from harassment. Victimization The act of victimization is the same to all characteristics that the law tends to protect. The occurrence of the action is a justification especially when there is a punishment or a treatment that is different because of complaining of a discrimination act. The punishment may also be a result of complaining of the lack of an adjustment that is essential in the working environment (Glister, 2010, p. 815). Victimization is unlawful, and it violates the rights of employees on being open on the kind of issues that affect them. Appropriate adjustments may be the kind that is necessary to make comfortable the working conditions of people with disabilities in the working environment. For example, the dismissal of an employee because of complaining about discrimination is an act of victimization. There is no difference of whether the complaint was formal or informal. The only defense that an employer has is if only the charge was false and was made to create the wrong intentions to discredit the business. Otherwise, the employer is liable and punishable by law. Laws before the act of 2010 The laws that were in existence before the enactment of the act of 2010 were in three main categories. The classes comprise of the sex discrimination law of 1975, the relations of the races of 1976 and the act against the discrimination of people with disabilities of 1995. The complaints after the setting in of the discrimination act of 2010 were that not all the offenses before October 1, 2010 could attain the protection of the action. The previous acts could thus be the only defense on which any complaint could base its grounds (Masupe, 2013, p. 225). The act was exclusively for matters after the date of emergence of October 1, 2010. However, the issue was to change after the enactment. Every offense that had a root in the issue of discrimination had a cover in the act of 2010. The instance was possible after 1 October 2010. Provisions of the 2010 act After the due date of approval, the act was in full effect. The law had different rules that would protect the persons who were most vulnerable in the society. The framework as per the outline was against a direct or indirect form of percipience. The victims of discrimination, victimization, as well as harassment, had a sanctuary for justice (Waltman, 2013, p. 180). The law had provisions for every placement that would be public functions, services, the work premises and the matters relating to the transport environment. Moreover, there are provisions for the discrimination of the population in education institutions and the various associations. The law also made a shift to the definition of the reassignment of gender. The main transition that was notable was the elimination of the medical supervision. The law provides protection for individuals who experience victimization because they have friendly or other ties to the people who are within the characteristics that the act outlines. In addition, the law made a clear statement for the protection of breastfeeding mothers. The law also provides for the availability of voluntary action as long as the action is active. The application of the same definition for all forms of indirect discrimination acts to all persons is a constituent of the law of 2010. Performance of the act of 2010 Before the action took impact in the discrimination fields, there were different definitions of discrimination issues and various measures were inherent in the case of a discrimination offense. Consequently, one of the achievements of the law is a mere content that discusses the various issues and instances of discrimination. However, the script does not change the situation that was evident before its compilation (Lockwood, 2012, p. 182). There is a gap to introduce the knowledge of the various cases to a different population. In addition, the people who experience victimization should forward the cases to the necessary requirements. The act of 2010 achieves the simplification but does not justify the comprehension of the laws. The rights that the lawful citizens have are not yet a part of their life since the particular population does not have enough knowledge about the rights. The act of 2010 has not seen the simplification of the bureaucracies that attribute the institutions of the antidiscrimination. The act has only seen the simplification of its content and does not affect the other variables that the script is dependent in order to enhance justice. The procedures for reporting discrimination or victimization offenses are still time insensitive and numerous. The instance proves that any report that reaches the necessary law institution may not receive the seriousness that it deserves. In fact, most of the cases do not see the light of truth since the processes are a significant hindrance. The law also does not define the relationship that is prevalent between the people who are victims and the respective defendants. For example, most of the employers tend to intimidate the victims of the discrimination acts from reporting the matters to the law enforcers. The aspect is very evident in the education institutions especially where the students have their peers as the only close persons. The law does not simplify the modes of communication to transmit the various offenses in the time they happen or thereafter. In more particular cases, the scenario of gender reporting was a complex issue. The government made evidence that there was no need of reporting on the pay of the employees from firms especially those that had more than two hundred and fifty workers. The issue had the implication that the employers who made small payments based on gender, or other grounds had more time to continue doing the same act. Other reports were that voluntary reports of bias did not receive the attention that could at least solve the cases. The period that the governments put depicts the lack of cooperation from the government and thus a failure of the law to perform in the shortest period. After some time, the government made the green light for legalization of discrimination as long as it is a combination. The issue was through the confirmation of the government in 2013 that provides that the government would not enforce the provisions of employment preference for the large business entities. Specific achievements of the act of 2010 The act has been the cause for the elimination of the provisions that were obstacles to the perception of people with disabilities. The action has made every indirect form of discrimination towards the disabled illegal. The instance is possible through the addition of more protection courtesy of more liabilities that an employer may pay if guilty. The issue of indirect discrimination is also useful in challenging of policies and procedures that may be absent in a particular organization. For example, the absence of precise management systems that may have a substantial impact to the employees who have disabilities may be subject to challenge in the scenario of consequent bias. The law also protects disabled persons from measures that a person may take against them due to a mishap that occurs because of their physical form. The law protects them from disciplinary actions due to problems that occur of which they do not have the power to control. The people with individual needs, therefore, are in a simpler position to excel in comparison to the position that the old acts put them. However, the provision has met various oppositions. The instance is because most of the employers are capable of justifying the correction actions that they take against the particular individuals. The argument is that the people with special needs should not have an advantage over other people that emanates from their disabilities. The law justifies the position of the individuals with special needs. The employers are correspondingly liable if they have information on the disability of the employee or there was a rational expectation of them knowing of a person’s physical way. The work was successful in establishing a ban in the pre-employment questions about the aspirant’s health with the exceptions of unique circumstances. The employers who before the enactment of the law had questionnaires that could enquire the on the health of the interviewees had to reconsider the whole action. The issue becomes acute in the happening whereby if an applicant puts forward that there was discrimination in his or her elimination in the recruitment process; the employer has to provide information discredit the claims (Flacks, 2012, p. 400). The case is even more serious if the plaintiff is a person with special needs. The law will protect the complainant and punish the defendant if found guilty with the aim of creating an example for others. In conclusion, the act of perception of 2010 has not yet been in full effect in eliminating the existing discrimination offenses. Moreover, the penetration of the law in the prevalent tribunals is not very useful. Moreover, the design of the law promises a lot especially if all the stakeholders support the law. There is a need of the government to back up the plan especially the employment protection act. The media, the press and other platforms of communication need to take the policy of the act serious and publicize the contents. There is also a need for a simpler avenue of accessing the consultation and advice that the characteristics that the law protects need. The public institutions that have the mandate of investigating and prosecuting the persons liable for discrimination should reduce the process of complaining of discrimination. Employers and other leaders should also be in the front line to ensure that they act as ambassadors of the antidiscrimination in the society. With the combinations of the various efforts from different avenues will lead to the excellence of the law. Bibliography Butlin, S. (2011). The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Does the Equality Act 2010 Measure up to UK International Commitments? Industrial Law Journal, 15. Clucas, R. (2012). Religion, sexual orientation and the Equality Act 2010: Gay bishops in the Church of England negotiating rights against discrimination. Sociology, 46(5), 936--950. Easton, C. (2012). Revisiting the law on website accessibility in the light of the UK’s Equality Act 2010 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. International Journal Of Law And Information Technology, 20(1), 19--47. Flacks, S. (2012). Deviant Disabilities The Exclusion of Drug and Alcohol Addiction from the Equality Act 2010. Social \& Legal Studies, 21(3), 395--412. Glister, J. (2010). Section 199 of the Equality Act 2010: How Not to Abolish the Presumption of Advancement. The Modern Law Review, 73(5, 807--823. Hand, J. D. (2012). Unification, simplification, amplification? An analysis of aspects of the British Equality Act 2010. Commonwealth Law Bulletin, 38(3)., 13. Lockwood, G. H. (2012). The Equality Act 2010 and mental health. The British Journal Of Psychiatry, 200(3), 182--183. Manthorpe, J. &. (2013). Examining day centre provision for older people in the UK using the Equality Act 2010: findings of a scoping review. Health \& Social Care In The Community, 17-23. Masupe, T. &. (2013). Equality Act 2010: Knowledge, perceptions and practices of occupational physicians. Occupational Medicine, 63(3), 224--226. Waltman, J. (2013). Church Autonomy, Sexual Orientation, and Employment Policy in Britain: A Legislative History of the Employment Provisions of the Equality Act 2010. Политикологија Религије, (1), 173--191. Read More