Equality Act Detail published

The Government has published the Equality Act 2010 (Disability) Regulations 2010¬†,¬†¬†¬†which include provisions that support the definition of disability in the Equality Act 2010, coming into force on 1 October.¬† This Act replaces all existing discrimination laws including the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, under which employers and service providers are not allowed to discriminate on the grounds of individuals’ physical or mental disabilities.

However, certain conditions have been excluded from constituting a disability, such as: addictions to alcohol, nicotine, or any other substance, some mental health conditions and hay fever, unless it aggravates the effect of another condition.  Addictions that were originally the result of the administration of medically prescribed drugs or other medical treatment are included under the act

Under the new Act Tribunals will be able to make a common-sense decisions as to whether or not a particular impairment has a substantial effect on day-to-day activities, rather than specifying a list of capacities, such as mobility, speech, or the ability to understand.  This should make it easier for individuals to show that they are disabled under the Equality Act 2010.

In addition, the Government is planning updated guidance on matters to be taken into account in determining whether or not an employee is disabled to take account of the Equality Act 2010. It is consulting on draft guidance until 31 October 2010.

The Equality Act 2010 (Sex Equality Rule) (Exceptions) Regulations 2010 and Equality Act (Age Exceptions for Pension Schemes) Order 2010 have also been published. These regulations set out exceptions to the rules on non-discrimination in relation to sex and age for occupational health schemes.