Equality Bill

House of Lords

Session 2009 - 10
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Equality Bill

Equality Bill
Part 5 — Work
Chapter 3 — Equality of terms
51

(4)
Regulations under subsection (3)(e) may not require an employer, after the first
publication of information, to publish information more frequently than at
intervals of 12 months.
(5)
The regulations may make provision for a failure to comply with the
regulations—
5
(a)
to be an offence punishable on summary conviction by a fine not
exceeding level 5 on the standard scale;
(b)
to be enforced, otherwise than as an offence, by such means as is
prescribed.
(6)
The reference to a failure to comply with the regulations includes a reference
10
to a failure by a person acting on behalf of an employer.
Supplementary
79
Comparators
(1)
This section applies for the purposes of this Chapter.
(2)
If A is employed, B is a comparator if subsection (3) or (4) applies.
15
(3)
This subsection applies if—
(a)
B is employed by A’s employer or by an associate of A’s employer, and
(b)
A and B work at the same establishment.
(4)
This subsection applies if—
(a)
B is employed by A’s employer or an associate of A’s employer,
20
(b)
B works at an establishment other than the one at which A works, and
(c)
common terms apply at the establishments (either generally or as
between A and B).
(5)
If A holds a personal or public office, B is a comparator if—
(a)
B holds a personal or public office, and
25
(b)
the person responsible for paying A is also responsible for paying B.
(6)
If A is a relevant member of the House of Commons staff, B is a comparator if—
(a)
B is employed by the person who is A’s employer under subsection (6)
of section 195 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, or
(b)
if subsection (7) of that section applies in A’s case, B is employed by the
30
person who is A’s employer under that subsection.
(7)
If A is a relevant member of the House of Lords staff, B is a comparator if B is
also a relevant member of the House of Lords staff.
(8)
Section 42 does not apply to this Chapter; accordingly, for the purposes of this
Chapter only, holding the office of constable is to be treated as holding a
35
personal office.
(9)
For the purposes of this section, employers are associated if—
(a)
one is a company of which the other (directly or indirectly) has control,
or
(b)
both are companies of which a third person (directly or indirectly) has
40
control.

Equality Bill
Part 5 — Work
Chapter 4 — Supplementary
52

80
Interpretation and exceptions
(1)
This section applies for the purposes of this Chapter.
(2)
The terms of a person’s work are—
(a)
if the person is employed, the terms of the person’s employment that
are in the person’s contract of employment, contract of apprenticeship
5
or contract to do work personally;
(b)
if the person holds a personal or public office, the terms of the person’s
appointment to the office.
(3)
If work is not done at an establishment, it is to be treated as done at the
establishment with which it has the closest connection.
10
(4)
A person (P) is the responsible person in relation to another person if—
(a)
P is the other’s employer;
(b)
P is responsible for paying remuneration in respect of a personal or
public office that the other holds.
(5)
A job evaluation study is a study undertaken with a view to evaluating, in
15
terms of the demands made on a person by reference to factors such as effort,
skill and decision-making, the jobs to be done—
(a)
by some or all of the workers in an undertaking or group of
undertakings, or
(b)
in the case of the armed forces, by some or all of the members of the
20
armed forces.
(6)
In the case of Crown employment, the reference in subsection (5)(a) to an
undertaking is to be construed in accordance with section 191(4) of the
Employment Rights Act 1996.
(7)
“Civil partnership status” has the meaning given in section 124(1) of the
25
Pensions Act 1995.
(8)
Schedule 7 (exceptions) has effect.
Chapter 4
Supplementary
81
Ships and hovercraft
30
(1)
This Part applies in relation to—
(a)
work on ships,
(b)
work on hovercraft, and
(c)
seafarers,

only in such circumstances as are prescribed.
35
(2)
For the purposes of this section, it does not matter whether employment arises
or work is carried out within or outside the United Kingdom.
(3)
“Ship” has the same meaning as in the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.
(4)
“Hovercraft” has the same meaning as in the Hovercraft Act 1968.
(5)
“Seafarer” means a person employed or engaged in any capacity on board a
40
ship or hovercraft.

Equality Bill
Part 5 — Work
Chapter 4 — Supplementary
53

(6)
Nothing in this section affects the application of any other provision of this Act
to conduct outside England and Wales or Scotland.
82
Offshore work
(1)
Her Majesty may by Order in Council provide that in the case of persons in
offshore work—
5
(a)
specified provisions of this Part apply (with or without modification);
(b)
Northern Ireland legislation making provision for purposes
corresponding to any of the purposes of this Part applies (with or
without modification).
(2)
The Order may—
10
(a)
provide for these provisions, as applied by the Order, to apply to
individuals (whether or not British citizens) and bodies corporate
(whether or not incorporated under the law of a part of the United
Kingdom), whether or not such application affects activities outside the
United Kingdom;
15
(b)
make provision for conferring jurisdiction on a specified court or class
of court or on employment tribunals in respect of offences, causes of
action or other matters arising in connection with offshore work;
(c)
exclude from the operation of section 3 of the Territorial Waters
Jurisdiction Act 1878 (consents required for prosecutions) proceedings
20
for offences under the provisions mentioned in subsection (1) in
connection with offshore work;
(d)
provide that such proceedings must not be brought without such
consent as may be required by the Order.
(3)
“Offshore work” is work for the purposes of—
25
(a)
activities in the territorial sea adjacent to the United Kingdom,
(b)
activities such as are mentioned in subsection (2) of section 11 of the
Petroleum Act 1998 in waters within subsection (8)(b) or (c) of that
section, or
(c)
activities mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 87(1) of the
30
Energy Act 2004 in waters to which that section applies.
(4)
Work includes employment, contract work, a position as a partner or as a
member of an LLP, or an appointment to a personal or public office.
(5)
Northern Ireland legislation includes an enactment contained in, or in an
instrument under, an Act that forms part of the law of Northern Ireland.
35
(6)
In the application to Northern Ireland of subsection (2)(b), the reference to
employment tribunals is to be read as a reference to industrial tribunals.
(7)
Nothing in this section affects the application of any other provision of this Act
to conduct outside England and Wales or Scotland.
83
Interpretation and exceptions
40
(1)
This section applies for the purposes of this Part.
(2)
“Employment” means—
(a)
employment under a contract of employment, a contract of
apprenticeship or a contract personally to do work;

Equality Bill
Part 6 — Education
Chapter 1 — Schools
54

(b)
Crown employment;
(c)
employment as a relevant member of the House of Commons staff;
(d)
employment as a relevant member of the House of Lords staff.
(3)
This Part applies to service in the armed forces as it applies to employment by
a private person; and for that purpose—
5
(a)
references to terms of employment, or to a contract of employment, are
to be read as including references to terms of service;
(b)
references to associated employers are to be ignored.
(4)
A reference to an employer or an employee, or to employing or being
employed, is (subject to section 212(11)) to be read with subsections (2) and (3);
10
and a reference to an employer also includes a reference to a person who has
no employees but is seeking to employ one or more other persons.
(5)
“Relevant member of the House of Commons staff” has the meaning given in
section 195 of the Employment Rights Act 1996; and such a member of staff is
an employee of—
15
(a)
the person who is the employer of that member under subsection (6) of
that section, or
(b)
if subsection (7) of that section applies in the case of that member, the
person who is the employer of that member under that subsection.
(6)
“Relevant member of the House of Lords staff” has the meaning given in
20
section 194 of that Act (which provides that such a member of staff is an
employee of the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords).
(7)
In the case of a person in Crown employment, or in employment as a relevant
member of the House of Commons staff, a reference to the person’s dismissal
is a reference to the termination of the person’s employment.
25
(8)
A reference to a personal or public office, or to an appointment to a personal or
public office, is to be construed in accordance with section 52.
(9)
“Crown employment” has the meaning given in section 191 of the Employment
Rights Act 1996.
(10)
Schedule 8 (reasonable adjustments) has effect.
30
(11)
Schedule 9 (exceptions) has effect.
Part 6
Education
Chapter 1
Schools
35
84
Application of this Chapter
This Chapter does not apply to the following protected characteristics—
(a)
age;
(b)
marriage and civil partnership.