Acas have published a new guide – Asking and responding to questions of discrimination in the workplace, which will apply from 6 April 2014 when the discrimination questionnaire provisions in S.138 of the Equality Act 2010 will be abolished. The guidance explains how people, such as jobseekers and employees who think they may have been discriminated against under the Equality Act 2010, can ask questions about what may have happened to them and how people or organisations such as employers that receive an information request can respond appropriately. For those asking questions the guide sets out a six step procedure on how to prepare for and seek information from the responder, with a template at Annex 1 designed to help organise or frame questions. For those responding to questions, the guide contains a three step process covering the main issues for a responder to consider. Acas advise that questions about potential discrimination at work should be dealt with seriously and promptly by the responder and the responder should consider carefully the most appropriate way to respond given the possible implications of any response.

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