Equality

The Equality Act 2017 aims to create equal opportunities and fair access for people in our community. The Act establishes both legal rights and legal obligations. The rights provide protection for individuals from different types of prohibited behaviour in specific situations. The types of behaviour are known as discrimination, harassment or victimisation. The Act also creates a legal obligation to make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities.

Discrimination means treating someone unfairly because of who they are.

The Equality Act 2017 protects those who possess a certain characteristic known as 'protected characteristics' – we all have some of these characteristics.

These characteristics are:

age
disability
gender reassignment
marriage or civil partnership (in employment only)
pregnancy and maternity
race
religion or belief
sex
sexual orientation

The Act protects an individual from discrimination by:

employers
businesses and organisations which provide goods or services like banks, shops, hotels and cafes
hospitals, GPs and care homes
someone a person rents or buys a property from like a local authority, private landlord or an estate agent
schools, college or other education providers
private clubs and associations with 25 or more members like golf clubs and children’s activity clubs, such as scouts or guides
transport services like taxis or
public bodies like government departments and local authorities

Find out more about:

To view the full Equality Act 2017 and explanatory notes. (these explanatory notes are subject to change).

If you think you have been unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised please visit the action you can take page for contact information.

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