The draft Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) Regulations 2023 were laid before Parliament on 7 November 2023 with the aim of codifying a number of rights and protections deriving from European case law that might otherwise fall away on 1 January 2024 under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023.
The draft regulations are meant to ensure that key rights and principles of equality law are safeguarded and enshrined in domestic legislation. These relate to the following aspects of equality law:
- Direct discrimination related to pregnancy, maternity and breastfeeding
- Indirect associative discrimination
- Direct discrimination in the context of access to employment and occupation
- Right to equal pay where employees' terms are attributable to a single source, and
- Definition of disability
We will be publishing detailed guidance on the effect of these regulations when passed into domestic law.
Sarah Taylor