One Workplace Equal Rights

Legislation

Public Duty

The Race Relations Amendment Act imposes new duties on public sector bodies. This requires them to prevent discrimination before it occur. The public sector includes councils, central government agencies, health services and many more.

Those responsible for providing public services will need to ensure that their policies and services are fair. Specific duties require key bodies to:

• Prepare and publish a Race Equality Scheme describing their public functions that are relevant to the duty.
• Bodies also have to set out their arrangements for assessing and consulting on the policies they are proposing for adoption.
• Monitoring for the impact of their policies on the promotion of race equality.
• Publishing the results of their assessments, consultations and monitoring.
• Ensuring public access to information and to services.
• Training employees in issues relevant to the duty.

Disclaimer: This information is for guidance purposes only and is not intended to be a full statement of the law. Please seek further advice from a Trade Union, advice centre or solicitor before taking action. While every effort is made to ensure the information is accurate and up to date, only the Tribunals or Courts can give authoritative interpretations of the law.