Lords Amendments to the Equality Bill

House of Lords

Session 2009 - 10
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Other Bills before Parliament

Lords Amendments to the Equality Bill

Lords Amendments to the Equality Bill
[The page and line references are to HL Bill 20, the bill as first printed for the Lords.]
Clause 9
1
Page 6, line 7, at end insert—

“(5)
A Minister of the Crown may by order—

(a)
amend this section so as to provide for caste to be an aspect of race;

(b)
amend this Act so as to provide for an exception to a provision of

this Act to apply, or not to apply, to caste or to apply, or not to

apply, to caste in specified circumstances.

(6)
The power under section 199(4)(b), in its application to subsection (5),

includes power to amend this Act.”
Clause 17
2
Page 8, line 41, leave out “Chapter 2 of”
Clause 20
3
Page 10, line 41, at end insert—

“( )
Where the first or third requirement relates to the provision of information,

the steps which it is reasonable for A to have to take include steps for

ensuring that in the circumstances concerned the information is provided

in an accessible format.”
4
Page 10, line 41, at end insert—

“( )
A person (A) who is subject to a duty to make reasonable adjustments is not

(subject to express provision to the contrary) entitled to require a disabled

person, in relation to whom A is required to comply with the duty, to pay

to any extent A’s costs of complying with the duty.”
5
Page 10, line 43, at end insert—

2

“( )
In relation to the second requirement, a reference in this section or an

applicable Schedule to avoiding a substantial disadvantage includes a

reference to—

(a)
removing the physical feature in question,

(b)
altering it, or

(c)
providing a reasonable means of avoiding it.”
Clause 60
6
Page 40, line 10, leave out subsections (1) to (4) and insert—

“(1)
A person (A) to whom an application for work is made must not ask about

the health of the applicant (B)—

(a)
before offering work to B, or

(b)
where A is not in a position to offer work to B, before including B in

a pool of applicants from whom A intends (when in a position to do

so) to select a person to whom to offer work.

(2)
A contravention of subsection (1) (or a contravention of section 110 or 111

that relates to a contravention of subsection (1)) is enforceable as an

unlawful act under Part 1 of the Equality Act 2006 (and, by virtue of section

119(8), is enforceable only by the Commission under that Part).

(3)
A does not contravene a relevant disability provision merely by asking

about B’s health; but A’s conduct in reliance on information given in

response may be a contravention of a relevant disability provision.

(4)
Subsection (4A) applies if B brings proceedings before an employment

tribunal on a complaint that A’s conduct in reliance on information given

in response to a question about B’s health is a contravention of a relevant

disability provision.

(4A)
In the application of section 135 to the proceedings, the particulars of the

complaint are to be treated for the purposes of subsection (2) of that section

as facts from which the tribunal could decide that A contravened the

provision.”
7
Page 40, line 33, at beginning insert “establishing whether B will be able to comply

with a requirement to undergo an assessment or”
8
Page 40, line 35, at end insert—

“(aa)
establishing whether B will be able to carry out a function that is

intrinsic to the work concerned,”
9
Page 40, line 42, at end insert—

“( )
In subsection (5)(aa), where A reasonably believes that a duty to make

reasonable adjustments would be imposed on A in relation to B in

connection with the work, the reference to a function that is intrinsic to the

work is to be read as a reference to a function that would be intrinsic to the

work once A complied with the duty.”
10
Page 41, line 6, leave out from “the” to third “to” in line 8 and insert “references in

subsection (1) to offering a person work are, in relation to contract work, to be read

as references to allowing a person”
11
Page 41, line 8, at end insert—

3

“( )
A reference to offering work is a reference to making a conditional or

unconditional offer of work (and, in relation to contract work, is a reference

to allowing a person to do the work subject to fulfilment of one or more

conditions).”
12
Page 41, line 20, at end insert—

“( )
An assessment is an interview or other process designed to give an

indication of a person’s suitability for the work concerned.”
13
Page 41, line 25, leave out subsection (11)
Clause 64
14
Page 43, line 17, leave out “colleague” and insert “comparator”
15
Page 43, line 19, leave out “colleague” and insert “comparator”
16
Page 43, line 19, at end insert—

“(2)
The references in subsection (1) to the work that B does are not restricted to

work done contemporaneously with the work done by A.”
Clause 69
17
Page 45, line 32, leave out from “factor” to end of line 34 and insert “reliance on

which—

(a)
does not involve treating A less favourably because of A’s sex than

the responsible person treats B, and

(b)
if the factor is within subsection (2), is a proportionate means of

achieving a legitimate aim.”
18
Page 45, leave out lines 39 to 41
19
Page 46, line 1, leave out “(2)” and insert “(1)”
Clause 77
20
Page 49, line 31, leave out from “that” to end of line 33 and insert “purports to

prevent or restrict the person (P) from disclosing or seeking to disclose information

about the terms of P’s work is unenforceable against P in so far as P makes or seeks

to make a relevant pay disclosure.”
21
Page 49, line 33, at end insert—

“( )
A term of a person’s work that purports to prevent or restrict the person (P)

from seeking disclosure of information from a colleague about the terms of

the colleague’s work is unenforceable against P in so far as P seeks a

relevant pay disclosure from the colleague; and “colleague” includes a

former colleague in relation to the work in question.”
22
Page 49, line 34, leave out from “A” to “whether” in line 36 and insert “disclosure

is a relevant pay disclosure if made for the purpose of enabling the person who

makes it, or the person to whom it is made, to find out”
23
Page 49, line 39, leave out subsections (3) and (4) and insert—

“( )
The following are to be treated as protected acts for the purposes of the

relevant victimisation provision—

(a)
seeking a disclosure that would be a relevant pay disclosure;

4

(b)
making or seeking to make a relevant pay disclosure;

(c)
receiving information disclosed in a relevant pay disclosure.”
24
Page 50, line 14, leave out subsection (6)
Clause 79
25
Page 51, line 6, leave out “colleague of A’s only” and insert “comparator”
26
Page 51, line 15, leave out “colleague of A’s only” and insert “comparator”
27
Page 51, line 18, leave out “colleague of A’s only” and insert “comparator”
28
Page 51, line 24, leave out “colleague of A’s only” and insert “comparator”
Clause 84
29
Page 54, line 33, leave out paragraph (c)
Clause 91
30
Page 58, line 10, at end insert—

“(2A)
The responsible body of such an institution must not discriminate against

a disabled person—

(a)
in the arrangements it makes for deciding upon whom to confer a

qualification;

(b)
as to the terms on which it is prepared to confer a qualification on

the person;

(c)
by not conferring a qualification on the person;

(d)
by withdrawing a qualification from the person or varying the

terms on which the person holds it.

(2B)
Subsection (2A) applies only to disability discrimination.
31
Page 58, line 13, at end insert—

“( )
a disabled person who holds or has applied for a qualification

conferred by the institution.”
32
Page 58, line 25, at end insert—

“( )
The responsible body of such an institution must not victimise a disabled

person—

(a)
in the arrangements it makes for deciding upon whom to confer a

qualification;

(b)
as to the terms on which it is prepared to confer a qualification on

the person;

(c)
by not conferring a qualification on the person;

(d)
by withdrawing a qualification from the person or varying the

terms on which the person holds it.”
Clause 96
33
Page 62, line 36, leave out “desirability of minimising” and insert “need to

minimise”