The Government has confirmed that the dual discrimination provisions under the Equality Act 2010 will not be implemented in April as originally planned.
According to the Government Equalities Office, ministers are “still considering how best to take forward the dual discrimination provisions” for businesses and workers covered by the Act. They added that guidance will be published 12 weeks before the provisions come into force.
Dual discrimination, introduced under the Equality Act, will allow individuals who believe they have been treated less favourably because of two “protected characteristics” – such as age, disability, race, gender reassignment, religion or belief, sexual orientation or gender – to bring a combined claim.
Most of the Equality Act was introduced on 1 October 2010; however, dual discrimination was one of several measures postponed until a later date.
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Read further detail on the postponement of the dual discrimination provisions on XpertHR.
For more information on the implications for employers, read our 10 examples of dual discrimination scenarios.