Equality Act could catch employers out, says Nelsons
Employers need to prioritise policy-making and training in light of the Equality Act 2010, says East Midlands law firm Nelsons. The firm’s comments come after a recent survey revealed that only 60 per cent of respondents knew that the act had replaced existing legislation.
Nelsons said that the new legislation, which came into force earlier this month, is likely “to catch many employers out”. Forty per cent of those surveyed did not know that the new Act replaced all existing law regarding discrimination and employment. Less than 17 per cent of respondents plan to give staff any training or information on its contents.
The online survey, carried out amongst 70 employers, also revealed that 28 per cent of respondents were not aware that employers can be vicariously liable for the discriminatory acts of its employees.
Nelsons’ director and employment specialist Keeley Baigent, who is based in the firm’s Leicester office, said: “Having an equal opportunities policy for your organisation and communicating changes to legislation on an ongoing basis to employees is good business practice and will be invaluable should there be an equality-related incident at some point in the future.
"While respondents said they were aware of the new legislation being introduced they are not necessarily acting on it by obtaining training themselves or planning to train staff.”
