The Equality Act 2010 outlines that public authorities must comply with equality duty set by the public sector. This duty is in addition to their first duty to not discriminate against you. The duty aims to make sure public authorities think about things like discrimination and the needs of people who are disadvantaged or suffer inequality, when they make decisions about how they provide their services and implement policies.
What’s the public sector equality duty? The public sector equality duty is a duty on public authorities to consider or think about how their policies or decisions affect people who are protected under the Equality Act. Private organizations and individuals don’t have to comply with the duty. If a public authority hasn’t properly considered its public sector equality duty, you can challenge it in the courts.
Who is protected under the Equality Act? People who are protected under the Act have what’s called protected characteristics. The characteristics that are protected in relation to the public sector equality duty are:
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- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- marriage and civil partnership
- pregnancy and maternity
- race
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
What must public authorities do to comply with the duty? When public authorities carry out their functions, the Equality Act says they must have due regard or think about the need to:
- eliminate unlawful discrimination
- advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who don’t
- foster or encourage good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who don’t
Having due regard means public authorities must consciously consider or think about the need to do the three things set out in the public sector equality duty. It’s the courts who decide if a public authority has done enough to comply with the duty. What’s meant by advancing equality of opportunity? Some groups of people who share a protected characteristic, like race or sexual orientation, may suffer a disadvantage or have needs. The public sector equality duty means public authorities must think about whether they should act to meet these needs or reduce the inequalities. In doing this, public authorities can treat some groups more favorably than others.
The Equality Act says public authorities should think about the need to:
- remove or reduce disadvantages suffered by people because of a protected characteristic
- meet the needs of people with protected characteristics
- encourage people with protected characteristics to participate in public life and other activities
