The Equality Act became law in October 2010. It replaces previous legislation (such as the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995) and ensures consistency in what you need to do to make your workplace a fair environment and to comply with the law. The Equality Act covers the same groups that were protected by existing equality legislation - age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity - but extends some protections to groups not previously covered, and also strengthens particular aspects of equality law. ACAS has produced some excellent materials that explain the new legislation and what it covers. To visit this article on the ACAS web site go here... http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=3017
