Government publishes guidance on new positive action provisions
The Government has published guidance on exactly how the Equality Act’s positive action in recruitment and promotion provisions will work when they come into force on 6 April 2011.
Section 159 of the Equality Act 2010 allows for positive action in recruitment and promotion. Where there are two or more candidates of equal merit, the employer can select one with a particular protected characteristic where the employer reasonably believes that people who share that protected characteristic are disadvantaged or the numbers doing the job are disproportionately low, as long as it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
S.159 did not come into force on 1 October 2010, when most of the employment provisions in the Equality Act were enacted. The provision remained under review by the Coalition Government, but on 2 December 2010 the Government announced that S.159 would be introduced on 6 April 2011 and that it would publish guidance to help employers understand how they can use the positive action provisions to improve diversity in their workforce when recruiting and promoting candidates. The guidance, A Quick Start Guide To Using Positive Action In Recruitment And Promotion, is now available on the Equalities Office website.
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