Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Latest NewsEquality, diversity and inclusionSexual orientation discrimination

CIPD calls for new equality bill to include duties to prevent discrimination on grounds of age, sexual orientation and religion

by Mike Berry 11 Sep 2007
by Mike Berry 11 Sep 2007

The three existing public sector equality duties should be replaced by an overarching single duty that also includes age, sexual orientation and religion, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The government’s consultation on proposals for a Single Equality Bill, which would put all the law on equality and discrimination in one place, closed last week.

In its response to the consultation, the CIPD said there was support in the public sector for a single duty to promote race, disability and gender equality.

“The government needs to be seen to lead the way and not lag behind the good practice of leading local authorities, agencies and departments where there has been a pragmatic approach to tackling the overly complex situation,” it said.

Extending any single duty to include age, sexual orientation and religion was essential, as any exclusion “would be difficult to justify”, said the CIPD. The government’s failure to include these equality strands in a public duty would send out the wrong messages and create a “hierarchy of discrimination”, it said.

“To exclude age as a public duty would potentially disengage large parts of the electorate, but its introduction would support reporting, measurement and understanding of our ageing population,” the institute added.

Susan McNally, head of HR at Newham Council and lead officer on diversity at the Public Sector People Managers’ Association, said an extended single duty was a good idea. “The equalities strands are all interlinked and it would make it simpler to have them all rolled into one duty,” she said.

However, the CIPD warned that the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights could be faced with an “overwhelming burden” if made solely responsible for enforcing compliance with any new duty.

Other public service inspectorate bodies should have a role to play in monitoring compliance, the CIPD added.

Avatar
Mike Berry

previous post
TUC appeals to HR to protect migrants living in employer accommodation
next post
Managers’ gender pay gap widens for first time in decade

You may also like

Hiring boom set to slow as employers come...

15 Aug 2022

Are you a ‘quiet quitter’?

12 Aug 2022

July saw highest number of job adverts for...

12 Aug 2022

Transport sector recruitment ‘should be overhauled to improve...

12 Aug 2022

Liz Truss comments on Civil Service dismissed as...

12 Aug 2022

Hot summers, hot desks – employment law advice...

12 Aug 2022

Sharp rise in firms offering enhanced parental leave...

11 Aug 2022

Working in a heatwave: what should employers consider?

11 Aug 2022

Zero-hours contract benefits ‘can outweigh negatives for workers’

11 Aug 2022

Nearly 14,000 whistleblowing reports of furlough fraud received...

11 Aug 2022
  • 6 reasons why work-based learning is better than traditional training PROMOTED | A recent Fortune/Deloitte survey found that 71% of CEOs are anticipating that this year’s biggest business disrupter...Read more
  • Strengthening Scotland’s public services through virtual recruiting PROMOTED | This website is Scotland's go-to place for job seekers looking to apply for roles in public services...Read more
  • What’s next for L&D? Enter Alchemist… PROMOTED | It’s time to turn off the tedious and get ready for interactive and immersive learning experiences...Read more
  • Simple mistakes are blighting the onboarding experience PROMOTED | The onboarding of new hires is a company’s best chance...Read more
  • Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers get the right help? PROMOTED | Workplace wellbeing may seem a distant memory...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+