Further equality reforms in the pipeline 

Following the recent publication of a consultation on proposals for the introduction of mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting, the Government has now issued a ‘call for evidence’ on its wider plans for reform of equality legislation. 

The new call for evidence was published on 7 April and is open for 12 weeks. It invites feedback on existing equality legislation and the Government’s proposals for future reform. Responses will help shape the forthcoming Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.  

The call for evidence is seeking evidence and views to be submitted by stakeholders on the following areas: 

1. Equal pay and pay transparency 

The Government plans to extend the equal pay provisions in the Equality Act 2010 to cover race and disability.  

The call for evidence seeks views and evidence on: 

• Making the right to equal pay effective for ethnic minority and disabled people. 

• Improving enforcement of equal pay rights by establishing an Equal Pay Regulation and Enforcement Unit, with the involvement of trade unions. 

• Ensuring that outsourcing of services can no longer be used by employers to avoid paying equal pay. 

• Introducing pay transparency measures (to include providing salary or salary ranges on job adverts). 

• The effectiveness of equal pay audits, including how frequently employment tribunals are ordering that audits be carried out and the effectiveness of the consequences for non-compliance. 

2. Combined discrimination 

The Government is concerned that the current legislation does not provide adequate protection for those experiencing discrimination based on a combination of protected characteristics. It intends to bring section 14 of the Equality Act 2010 into force, to allow direct discrimination claims to be brought on the basis of two protected characteristics. The call for evidence seeks views on the prevalence and patterns of combined discrimination across different sectors and regions. 

3. Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) 

The call for evidence seeks views on the extent to which non-public bodies are complying with the PSED when exercising public functions, whether there are barriers preventing them from doing so and whether additional steps are necessary to enable compliance. 

4. Sexual harassment 

The Employment Rights Bill includes measures to strengthen protection against sexual harassment in the workplace and makes provision for new regulations to be made specifying the ‘reasonable steps’ that employers must take to prevent sexual harassment. The call for evidence seeks evidence of effective steps that employers can take to reduce or prevent workplace harassment. It also seeks evidence on the effect of expanding protection against sexual harassment to volunteers. 

5. Socio-economic duty  

The call for evidence seeks evidence to support the implementation of the socio-economic duty in England, which requires public authorities to consider socio-economic disadvantage in their decisions. 

Next steps 

Employers, academics, researchers, and other stakeholders are encouraged to provide evidence and views on these proposals by 30 June 2025. The separate consultation on mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting closes on 10 June 2025. 

We can expect to see the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill issued later this year, probably in the autumn and most likely after the Employment Rights Bill receives Royal Assent. 

See our recent comments to Personnel Today on the Government’s proposals for reform to equality legislation in this article.