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19 Feb 2010

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has replaced the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Disability Rights Commission.
The new Equality Act will consolidate all of the following:

• Sex Discrimination Act 1975

• Race Relations Act 1978, Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000

• Disability Discrimination Act 1995, and 2005

• Fair Employment & Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998

• Report of Stephen Lawrence Enquiry 1999

• Human Rights Act 1998 (in force 2000)

• Community Cohesion Report (The Cantle Report) 2001

• Employment Equality Regulations (Sexual Orientation) 2003

• Employment Equality (Religion of Belief) 2003

• The Gender Recognition Act 2004

• The Civil Partnership Act 2004

The Equality Act is intended to make all of the above easier to understand, after all if you were to read each one in it’s entirety it would amount to over 3,000 pages!
Key aspects of the Equality Bill will also include; Socio-Economic Duty, Procurement, Pay Transparency, Extending Positive Action, and Age Discrimination in goods and services.

Anticipated Timescales
December 2009—First Reading House of Lords
January 2010—Second Reading House of Lords
Spring 2010—Third Reading House of Lords
Spring 2010—Bill put forward for Royal Assent
Autumn 2010—Anticipated Commencement

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