American activist, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, once said that
"the history of the past is but one long struggle upward
to equality" and with the consultation of the Equality
Bill in the Isle of Man now well underway, the Island moves one
step closer to enacting one of the most important pieces of social
legislation in recent times.
The draft Equality Bill 2015 is largely based on the England and
Wales Equality Act 2010. Whereas this legislation saw the
consolidation of pre-existing equality legislation, the Equality
Bill will lead to a complete overhaul of existing equality
practices (or lack thereof) on the Island, both in the provision of
goods and services and employment. The Bill will repeal 12 current
pieces of legislation, to include the Employment (Sex
Discrimination) Act 2000, which is arguably the most developed of
the Island's equality legislation. In place of the practices of
old, the Bill introduces various 'protected
characteristics' upon which discrimination and harassment is
unlawful, to include age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage
and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, race, religion or
belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
The Bill signals a new era of equality and transparency and, as
such, will have a huge impact on many employers across the Island,
who would be well advised to now consider whether their equal
opportunities and recruitment policies (if any) are
complaint.
Moving forward, the Bill seeks to introduce the following changes,
many of which will have an immediate impact on Island
employers:
1. Equal pay – the Bill seeks to extend the
right to equal pay for women to include work defined as being of
"equal value";
2. Retirement – the Bill sees the
introduction of age discrimination in the Manx arena; in practice
this means that employers will no longer be able to impose a
default retirement age save where to do so is a "proportionate
means of achieving a legitimate aim".
3. Disability discrimination – the Bill
imposes a duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments to
premises or working practices to help disabled job applicants and
employees. A failure to comply with this duty to make reasonable
adjustments will be a form of discrimination. For some employers,
the introduction of disability discrimination will herald a
complete change in both the physical set up of its business/office
space and a shift in HR practices, to include how the employer
handles sickness absence, completes capability procedures, staff
training and recruitment practices. What is "reasonable"
will of course be key.
What is clear is that a new era is upon us and now is the time to
sit up and take notice. It is noteworthy that the consultation also
includes topical issues such as zero hours contracts and changes to
the Employment Tribunal procedure, to include the introduction of
fees.
DQ's specialist employment team urges Island businesses and
employers to consider the draft legislation and engage in the
consultation phase which ends on Friday 14 November 2014, full
details of which can be found
here.
The Island is moving "upward to equality" and if you want
to influence this historic piece of legislation or take proactive
steps to introduce positive changes within your business, then now
is the time.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.