Acas launches The Equality Act - what's new for employers?

14th July 2010

A new guide to help businesses implement barrier-free policies when the Equality Act comes in this October - confirmed by the government last week - has been launched by employment relations service Acas.

Called The Equality Act - what's new for employers?, the booklet will attempt to demonstrate just what the proposed changes actually mean in practice.

Alterations are to be seen in areas such as pre-employment health checks, which should no longer be sent out with application packs, although a number of questions regarding reasonable adjustments that need to be made to the selection process if a person is disabled are exempt from this ruling.

Chief executive of the body John Taylor stated that ensuring fairness abounds in a working environment is good practice and can also prove motivating for staff, while driving up productivity and effectiveness.

"Last year Acas received around 32,000 calls on diversity and discrimination related issues. Our new guide helps businesses and managers understand what the changes mean in practice and what action employers will need to take," he remarked.

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