Equality Act 2010
About the Equality Act 2010
The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination. It replaces previous anti-discrimination laws with a single Act, making the law easier to understand and strengthening protection in some situations. It details the different ways in which it's unlawful to treat someone and sets out a number of duties which public institutions must carry out in order to create an environment of equality and opportunity for all, where individuals are free from discrimination. It is the cornerstone of our equality, diversity and inclusion work here at NTU.
How the Equality Act applies to you
Everyone in Britain is protected by the Act. The Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against people with one or more 'protected characteristics ' on the grounds of that/those characteristic(s). As well as being protected from discrimination, this also means that we are each responsible for ensuring that our own behaviours and practices are not discriminatory.
How the Equality Act applies to NTU
As a higher education institution, NTU must comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty of the Equality Act 2010, which requires the University to have 'due regard', in how it carries out its function, to the need to:
- eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act
- advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
- foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
One of the ways in which the University demonstrates 'due regard' is by conducting Equality Analysis on its key policies, practices and activities to consider any potential impact on people with protected characteristics, and how this might be resolved.
We are also legally required to demonstrate our compliance with the Equality Duty by:
- at least annually, publishing relevant, proportionate information relating to people employed by the University (our staff) and people who use the University's services (our students);
- at least every four years, setting ourselves specific, measurable equality objectives.
All information must be published in a way which makes it easy for people to access it.
