House of Commons Amendments

House of Commons

Session 2008 - 09
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Public Bill Committee: 9 June 2009
58

Equality Bill, continued

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

117


Clause  15,  page  11,  line  1,  leave out ‘reassignment’ and insert ‘identity’.

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

118


Clause  15,  page  11,  line  3,  leave out ‘reassignment’ and insert ‘identity’.

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

119


Clause  15,  page  11,  line  12,  leave out ‘7(1)’, and insert ‘[Gender identity] (1)(a)’.

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

139


Clause  16,  page  11,  line  15,  leave out ‘maternity’ and insert ‘parenthood’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment extends protection against discrimination to fathers in the first 52 weeks of his

child’s life in non-work cases.

The Solicitor General

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

91


Clause  16,  page  11,  line  20,  leave out ‘less favourably’ and insert ‘unfavourably’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment and amendments 92 to 98 would restate the test for pregnancy and maternity dis

crimination so as to remove the uncertainty of the wording of the existing test and avoid any risk

of the current wording in the Bill being interpreted as reducing protection.

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

138


Clause  16,  page  11,  line  22,  leave out ‘26’ and insert ‘52’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment extends the protected period for protection against discrimination on the grounds

of pregnancy and maternity to 52 weeks.

The Solicitor General

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

92


Clause  16,  page  11,  line  23,  leave out ‘less favourably’ and insert ‘unfavourably’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See explanatory statement for amendment 91.

Public Bill Committee: 9 June 2009
59

Equality Bill, continued

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

141


Clause  16,  page  11,  line  24,  at end add—

‘(4)
A person (A) discriminates against a man if, in the period of 52 weeks beginning

with the day on which his child was born, A treats him unfavourably because he

is a father.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment extends protection against discrimination to fathers in the first 52 weeks of his

child’s life in non-work cases.

The Solicitor General

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

93


Clause  16,  page  12,  line  1,  leave out ‘less favourably’ and insert ‘unfavourably’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See explanatory statement for amendment 91.

The Solicitor General

94


Clause  16,  page  12,  line  2,  leave out ‘less favourably’ and insert ‘unfavourably’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See explanatory statement for amendment 91.

The Solicitor General

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

95


Clause  16,  page  12,  line  13,  leave out subsection (7).

Member’s explanatory statement

See explanatory statement for amendment 91.

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

140


Clause  17,  page  12,  line  18,  leave out ‘maternity’ and insert ‘parenthood’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment extends protection against discrimination to fathers in the first 52 weeks of his

child’s life in non-work cases.

The Solicitor General

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

96


Clause  17,  page  12,  line  20,  leave out ‘less favourably’ and insert ‘unfavourably’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See explanatory statement for amendment 91.

Public Bill Committee: 9 June 2009
60

Equality Bill, continued

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

149


Clause  17,  page  12,  line  22,  at end insert—

‘(2A)
A person (A) discriminates against a man if, in a protected period in relation to a

child he has fathered, A treats him unfavourably because he is a father.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment extends protection against discrimination to fathers in the first 52 weeks of his

child’s life in work cases.

The Solicitor General

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

97


Clause  17,  page  12,  line  23,  leave out ‘less favourably’ and insert ‘unfavourably’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See explanatory statement for amendment 91.

The Solicitor General

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

98


Clause  17,  page  12,  line  25,  leave out ‘less favourably’ and insert ‘unfavourably’.

Member’s explanatory statement

See explanatory statement for amendment 91.

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

150


Clause  17,  page  12,  line  27,  at end insert—

‘(4A)
A person (A) discriminates against a man if A treats him less favourably because

he is exercising or seeking to exercise, or has exercised or sought to exercise, the

right to paternity leave.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment extends protection against discrimination to fathers in the first 52 weeks of his

child’s life in work cases.

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

151


Clause  17,  page  12,  line  38,  at end insert—

‘(6A)
The protected period, in relation to paternity, begins with pregnancy and ends 52

weeks after the child is born.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment extends protection against discrimination to fathers in the first 52 weeks of his

child’s life in work cases.

Public Bill Committee: 9 June 2009
61

Equality Bill, continued

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

153


Clause  18,  page  13,  line  13,  leave out ‘a proportionate means of achieving a

legitimate’ and insert ‘objectively justified by a legitimate aim and the means of achieving

that aim are appropriate and necessary.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment aligns the ‘legitimate aim’ test with one established in community law.

Mr Mark Harper

John Penrose

Mr John Baron

169


Clause  18,  page  13,  line  14,  at end insert—

‘(2A)
If the protected characteristic is disability, this section applies to a person who is

perceived to have a disability.’.

Mr Mark Harper

John Penrose

Mr John Baron

9

Clause  18,  page  13,  leave out line 17.

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

152


Clause  18,  page  13,  line  23,  at end insert ‘; parenthood’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment includes pregnancy and maternity as a protected characteristic in cases of indi

rect discrimination.

John Mason

37

Clause  18,  page  13,  line  23,  at end insert—

‘(4)
If the protected characteristic is religion or belief, for the purposes of subsection

(1), and subject to subsection (2), a provision, criterion or practice is

discriminatory if it requires persons of B’s religion or belief to act in a way which

contravenes the stated doctrinal or ethical teachings of the religion or belief.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

Makes clear that requiring a person to act contrary to the accepted teachings of his or her religion

or belief is a form of indirect discrimination. N.B. Indirect discrimination is still permitted if it is

proportionate—see Clause 18(2)(d).

Mr Mark Harper

John Penrose

Mr John Baron

170


Clause  19,  page  14,  line  4,  leave out ‘in comparison with persons who are not

disabled’.

Public Bill Committee: 9 June 2009
62

Equality Bill, continued

Mr Mark Harper

John Penrose

Mr John Baron

171


Clause  19,  page  14,  line  7,  leave out ‘in comparison with persons who are not

disabled’.

Mr Mark Harper

John Penrose

Mr John Baron

172


Clause  19,  page  14,  line  10,  leave out subsection (5) and insert—

‘(5)
The third requirement is a requirement to provide an auxiliary aid or service

where it would enable disabled persons to make use of, or facilitate the use by

disabled persons, of a service or other relevant matter, and to take such steps as it

is reasonable to have to take to provide the auxiliary aid.’.

Mr Mark Harper

John Penrose

Mr John Baron

173


Clause  19,  page  14,  line  12,  leave out ‘in comparison with persons who are not

disabled’.

Mr Mark Harper

John Penrose

Mr John Baron

174


Clause  19,  page  14,  line  13,  at end insert—

‘(5A)
For the purposes of the application of Parts 3 (services and public functions) and

6 (education), the requirements set out in subsections (3), (4) and (5) apply where

disabled persons generally are or may be put at a substantial disadvantage in

relation to a relevant matter in comparison with persons who are not disabled.’.

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

154


Clause  19,  page  14,  line  15,  at end insert—

‘(6A)
In taking reasonable steps to avoid the disadvantage, A must take such steps as

afford disabled people equal access or, if that is not practicable, to approximate

access to, that enjoyed by the rest of the public, to the matter in the applicable

schedule to which the duty to make adjustments applies.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment will clarify that duty holders must implement the most inclusive solution—subject

to the usual test of ‘reasonableness’—in order to comply with the duty to make reasonable adjust

ments.

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

155


Clause  22,  page  15,  line  26,  leave out ‘, 18 or 19’ and insert ‘or 18’.

Public Bill Committee: 9 June 2009
63

Equality Bill, continued

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment removes what is an additional ‘like for like’ comparator test from the duty to make

reasonable adjustments.

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

131


Clause  24,  page  17,  line  18,  leave out ‘a’ and insert ‘one or more than one’.

Member’s explanatory statement

An amendment to permit claims of direct discrimination and harassment on multiple form of dis

crimination.

John Mason

38

Clause  24,  page  17,  line  27,  leave out ‘or’ and insert ‘and’.

Member’s explanatory statement

Raises the threshold in the definition of harassment in order to mirror the wording of EU Directive

2000/78/EC, Article 2.3.

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

120


Clause  24,  page  17,  line  37,  leave out ‘reassignment’ and insert ‘identity’.

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

121


Clause  24,  page  17,  line  42,  leave out ‘reassignment’ and insert ‘identity’.

Mr Mark Harper

John Penrose

Mr John Baron

175


Clause  24,  page  18,  line  3,  at end add—

‘(6)
If the protected characteristic is disability, this section applies to a person who is

perceived to have a disability.’.

Mr Mark Harper

John Penrose

Mr John Baron

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

10

Clause  26,  page  19,  line  3,  leave out paragraph (a).

Public Bill Committee: 9 June 2009
64

Equality Bill, continued

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

156


Clause  26,  page  19,  line  4,  leave out paragraph (b).

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment extends protection against discrimination in the provisions of goods and services

because a person is married or in a civil partnership.

The Solicitor General

60

Clause  26,  page  19,  line  8,  leave out subsection (3).

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential on amendment 90.

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

157


Clause  28,  page  20,  line  23,  after ‘ship’, insert ‘, aircraft’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment extends protection against discrimination in goods and services to aircraft.

Lynne Featherstone

Dr Evan Harris

158


Clause  28,  page  20,  line  24,  after ‘ship’, insert ‘, aircraft’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment extends protection against discrimination in goods and services to aircraft.

Mr Mark Harper

John Penrose

Mr John Baron

176

Schedule  2,  page  147,  leave out lines 32 to 34 and insert—

‘(a)
to remove the feature, or

(b)
to alter the feature, or

(c)
to provide a reasonable means of avoiding the feature, or

(d)
to adopt a reasonable method of providing the service or exercising the

function.’.

John Mason

39

Schedule  3,  page  150,  line  6,  leave out paragraph 1.

Member’s explanatory statement

Parliament is exempt from the ban on discrimination, harassment and victimisation in the exercise