An examination of positive action and harassment as forms of discrimination and the proposed changes in the Equality Bill 2009

The White Paper “Framework for a Fairer Future – the Equality Bill”1 states that the
government’s commitment to equality is:
a. Necessary for the individual
b. Necessary for society
c. Necessary for the economy
It states that it is time to “declutter the law” – over the 40 years that discrimination
legislation has been evolving it has become very complex, and has been described
as a “proverbial dog’s breakfast, with significant differences between the strands,
and even differences within the strands, depending on whether the provisions relate
to areas falling within the scope of one of the new Directives”2 . There are now nine
major pieces of legislation and around 100 statutory instruments, not to mention the
guidance and codes of practice that accompany them.
It also states that it is time to strengthen the law, quoting the following disturbing statistics