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Employment Central

The Gender Equality Duty

Taking equality into the 21st Century

This month will see the advent of the ‘Gender Equality Duty’ which, in summary, requires public authorities to eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment, and to promote equality of opportunity between men and women.

The Gender Equality Duty covers all the functions of a public authority, such as policy-making, public services, and employment. The duty recognises that men and women have different needs in accessing public services, and places the onus for ensuring equality of access on the pubic authorities, rather than leaving it up to the individual to enforce their rights.

The duty also applies to certain private or voluntary sector bodies when they are carrying out public functions on behalf of the state (for example a private company who transports prisoners). The public bodies will remain responsible for ensuring that the duty is complied with, even when the function is contracted out. A private company looking to win a public sector contract, would also need to demonstrate that it satisfies the Gender Equality Duty.

As part of the general gender equality duty, public authorities will also have to examine their employment policies, including the pay gap between men and women doing the same jobs (or jobs of similar value), flexible working, recruitment practices and if there is a gender imbalance in the workforce, and why. Furthermore, public authorities will also need to consider how their employment policies affect transsexual men and women.

There is no choice – the Gender Equality Duty must be implemented. Omission to do so could result in the Duty being enforced in the Courts by The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) and, from this October the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR). The CEHR will be able to issue compliance notices to authorities that are failing to meet the general duty. These are enforceable in the courts. Notices state that the authority must meet the duty and instruct them to tell the EOC or CEHR within 28 days what they have done to comply.

Therefore, whilst the Gender Equality Duty will only apply to public bodies (or those exercising public functions), it should see a greater awareness of the differing needs of women and men within the workforce, as well as in the wider community. Bearing in mind that the public sector employs around 30% of the Welsh workforce, this could be a significant development in the move towards equality in the workplace for men and women.

Professional advice should always be sought where you require assistance in specific areas of the law. No responsibility can be accepted for any action based on this article.

Leo Abse & Cohen employs 140 members of staff, including 12 partners, at its offices in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea and offers legal advice to a broad range of organisations and private clients. For more information contact Sarah Forster on 029 2027 2098.

To comply public bodies should therefore:
Gather information on how their work affects men and women.
Consult employees, service users, trade unions and other stakeholders.
Assess the different impact on both sexes of policies and practices.
Identify priorities and set gender equality objectives.
Plan and take action to achieve those objectives.
Publish a gender equality scheme and review progress every three years. Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33