UK – Equality Act & PSED
The Equality Act 2010
The Equality Act 2010 consolidated the previous legislation around preventing discrimination and improving equality of opportunity and good relations. The Act applies to both the private and public sectors; however, there are additional provisions for the public sector, and guidance has been published by the UK Home Office Equalities Unit. The previous legislation on ethnicity included the Race Relations (Amendment) Act (2000), which amended the earlier Race Relations Act 1976.
The Public Sector Equality Duty
The public sector equality duty (PSED) is a legal requirement for public authorities and organisations carrying out public functions .
Public authorities are organisations that work for, or provide services for, the public. For example, local councils, schools and education bodies, health providers, police, fire and transport providers, and government departments. Organisations carrying out public functions are private businesses or volunteer organisations that are contracted to work on behalf of public authorities.
The purpose of the PSED is to make sure that public authorities and organisations carrying out public functions think about how they can improve society and promote equality in every aspect of their day-to-day business. This means that they must consider, and keep reviewing, how they are promoting equality in:
- decision-making
- internal and external policies
- procuring goods and services
- the services they provide
- recruitment, promotion and performance management of employees
Listed Authorities
Listed Authorities is a term used to refer to those who are covered not only by the general public sector equality duty (PSED), but also by the Scotland specific duties under the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 as amended.
