On 8th April the Equality Bill received Royal Assent and became the Equality Act 2010. The Act brings disability, sex, race and other grounds of discrimination within one piece of legislation, and also makes changes to the law. The Act does not apply to Northern Ireland.

Draft Codes of Practice and non-statutory guidance have been published for consultation.

The Government envisages that the main provisions of the Act will come into force in October 2010, with the integrated 'public sector equality duty' and dual discrimination provisions being delayed until April 2011 and some other parts later than that. This timetable will be subject to any changes resulting from the General Election.

Please visit see the attached link for further information: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2009-10/equality.html

or visit our Equality and Diversity page here to find out how we can help you ensure your business is compliant.