Faiths Together in Lambeth

Management Committee

21 February 2011

Comment on the Equalities Act 2010

The Inter Faith Network for the UK has produced a helpful briefing on the Equalities Act 2010. See www.interfaith.org.uk/publications/equalitybildec2010.pdf.

Based on this briefing, the FTiL Management Committee recognizes and affirms the following points.

  1. Age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex [i.e. gender]; and sexual orientation are all ‘protected characteristics’ under the Equalities Act 2010. In general, the Act prohibits discrimination, harassment and victimization with regard to all of these protected characteristics.
  2. The Act includes provisions which permit ‘religion or belief’ organisations (in strictly limited cases and on strictly limited grounds) to discriminate in regard to (a) employment and (b) the supply of goods, facilities and services.
  3. The Act creates a general Equality Duty on public authorities when carrying out their functions to have due regard to
    • the need to eliminate conduct which the Act prohibits, i.e. discrimination, harassment and victimisation;
    • the need to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant ‘protected characteristic’ and those who do not;
    • the need to foster good relations between people who share a relevant ‘protected characteristic’ and people who do not (which will therefore cover good relations between people of different faiths and between people who have a religious faith and those who do not).