Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Rejected
Revisit equality law enforcement regime, clarifying Fair Work Agency and EHRC roles to protect workers.
Recommendation
To ensure long-term enforcement of the new duties on employers introduced in the Employment Rights Bill, the Government should revisit the regime for enforcing equality law and harm against individual protected characteristics, including setting out how the Fair Work Agency will work with the EHRC where their responsibilities overlap. As part of its implementation of employment rights reform, we recommend that Government review and consult on the future of equality law enforcement with a targeted focus on areas where enforcement may be improved to better protect workers from harassment and abuse on the basis of protected characteristics. This targeted review and consultation should consider areas including (a) resourcing, (b) the scope of statutory powers; and (c) the role of new enforcement bodies. (Recommendation, Paragraph 47) 37
Government Response Summary
The government states the EHRC will retain its current responsibility for enforcing equality law and the FWA's remit does not include equality legislation, therefore rejecting a broader review of the equality law enforcement regime, though it will consider how information sharing between bodies works in practice.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The Government agrees that effective enforcement will be crucial to achieving workplaces and working conditions free from harassment. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) will retain its current responsibility to enforce the Equality Act 2010, including the new requirements relating to harassment which the Employment Rights Bill will introduce into the Equality Act 2010. The Government will work closely with the EHRC in the development of guidance to ensure that employers have the support they need to meet the new requirements. The Fair Work Agency’s (FWA) remit does not include equality legislation. However, through including the EHRC in Schedule 9, the Bill provides a solid basis for information sharing between the two bodies. We will carefully consider how this works in practice.