EHRC Public Consultation

28 October 2024

Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations

The Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has launched a public consultation on its Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations.

This Code of Practice sets out the necessary steps that service providers, public bodies and associations should take to ensure that people are not discriminated against. The legal concepts under the Equality Act 2010 are applied to everyday scenarios with practical guidance to show how the law can be used to protect individuals from discrimination. One such example would be how public buildings facilitate access for people with physical disabilities (ramps, lifts, easy access doors).

The Code has been updated to incorporate the EHRC’s guidance on age discrimination and single sex services guidance. You will probably be aware that the provision of single sex services is entirely topical with several high profile claims ongoing in respect of a service provider’s failure to provide a single sex space. This is particularly relevant in relation to rape crisis support for women and the need for that service to be provided to women only from a trauma perspective.

The updated Code is aimed to reflect significant legal developments since it was first published in 2011. One such development is the threshold for a philosophical belief to be protected under the Equality Act 2010. Here one immediately thinks of the case of Forstater v CDG.

The Consultation is open to everyone and the EHRC wants to hear from both organisations and individuals. The focus is on who uses the Code of Practice and its ease of use. The EHRC wants to understand whether it has managed to explain the recent changes in the law in a clear and usable way.

The Consultation will close on 3 January 2025.

This blog was written by Elizabeth McGlone, Partner at didlaw

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