The Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010

Introduction

The concept of equality is a legal paradigm and practice that has been gaining popularity in the UK at a very high rate. The need to ensure that people get payed equally for the same job performed is deeply entrenched in the UK constitution, the Equal Pay Act of 1970 and the Equality Act of 2010. Without legal frameworks to protect people from exploitive employers, people would be mistreated and discriminated by some employers on the basis of gender and other paradigms, and there would be cases such as men being paid higher than women for the same job done. Therefore, laws such as the equal pay act of 1970 and the equality act of 2010, which are acts of parliament of the United Kingdom, ensure that people are protected from discrimination at the workplace when it comes to remuneration. The equality act of 2010 was designed to consolidate, update, and supplement the many acts and laws that have been there previously whose main aim was to focus on anti-discrimination policies. The main focus of the paper is to discuss the equal pay act of 1970, as well as touch on equality act of 2010, its legal framework, how it shifted from the equal pay act of 1970, its purpose, a case example of legislation under the equality act, what it means for the employees and the employers and provide recommendations for employment practices that employers should follow.

Part 1-main body

The equal pay act of 1970

On October first 2010, the UK, through an act of parliament, passed the equality act 2010. The main purpose was to harmonize the many pieces of legislation that had previously been there into a single legal framework with an aim to protect and defend the rights and freedoms of people, while advancing equality and opportunities for everyone in the country. Notably, before 1963, the concept of employment was gender-based, such that men would be paid more than women even when their jobs, duties, and responsibilities were the same. Additionally, many companies and employers would reserve the top jobs or some jobs specifically for men, citing inferiority of women and how men must be above women. However, through activism and lobbying for human rights, the equal pay act of 1963 prohibited, by law, any less favorable treatment between men and women, and instituted the terms of payment for employment.

Background and transition of the equality act 2010 from the equal pay act of 1970

The law affirmed the principle stipulating that workers in the labor market should be paid equally with the promise of the government to ensure that there is the right for equal pay for equal work. Later, there were other laws such as the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975, the Race Relations Act of 1976, and the Disability Act of 1995. However, the Equality Act of 2010 sought to harmonize all the inconsistencies, misinterpretations, and segmentations of the Equal Pay Act of 1970, so that there is one document that clearly and logically outlines individual rights and freedoms within the three basic paradigms of race, sex, and disability discrimination in the UK, with regards to how employers treat and pay the employees. These three critical statutory instruments sought and seeks to protect people against discrimination within the construct of employment on matters such as religion, belief system, sexual orientation, and age.

Outline of the Equal Pay Act of 1970

The Equal Pay Act of 1970, as designed by the UK parliament, seeks to protect people at their workplaces and employment against payment-based discrimination, harassment, and victimization. The law protects all workers in the private and public services based on a nine-pillar framework which includes age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage, civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Additionally, the Equal Pay Act of 1970 and the Equality Act of 2010 are inclusive of provisions such as single sex services, whereby the existing restrictions remain as a proportionate means of gaining a legitimate and reasonable claim. Notably, when dealing with the case of a disabled individual, service providers and employers are required, by obligation, to make reasonable changes and adjustments to their workplaces in response to help people with disabilities overcome some contextual barriers. Therefore, the Equality Act came into play in the UK with primary aim of ensuring that everyone is treated equally and that there is equal pay for same job done.

Effects of the Equal Pay Act on employment practices in the UK

As seen earlier, The Equal Pay Act of 1970, as originally designed, had the primary aim, of compelling employers to treat men and women with the same stature with regards to the terms and conditions underlying payment, salaries, and other benefits. As such, employers, in the terms of contract between them and employees, must adhere to the following provisions regarding terms of payment:

Both men and women should be given or assigned ‘like work’ with implication being that the work given to both men and women should be the same or should be broadly similar.

Work should be rated as equivalent under job evaluation especially during recruitment and selection process.

Work should be payed the same if it is found or evaluated to be of equal value on paradigms such as effort, skill, and or decision making.

Notably, under the Equal Pay Act of 1970, the employees are free to compare the outlined terms of employment in the contract undersigned with the equivalent in a comparators contract. Here, the law defines a comparator as an employee of the opposite sex who is currently working for the same employer and doing similar jobs with same or relatively comparable duties and responsibilities and has equal value for the employer and the clients. However, the Equal Pay Act also leaves a lee way for the employer to define a distinct claim regarding a difference in payment as a faction of genuine factors, the concept of gender notwithstanding. Additionally, the Equal Pay Act of 1970 as well as the Equality Act of 2010, by law and act of parliament, enables the employees the entitlement of knowing how their payment is made up, for instance the bonus system. In this regard, for example, every employee, regardless of the gender, should know how to earn bonuses as well as how they are calculated by the employer. Moreover, in support or the Equal Pay Act of 1970, the Equality Act of 2010 makes it unlawful for the employer to prevent or bar employees from conducting discussions meant to establish if there are being paid differently for the same job, duties, and responsibilities. However, the Equal Pay Act of 1970, as well as the Equality Act of 2010, leave room for the employer to make it illegal on contractual terms for employees to reveal pay rates to people outside the designated workplace. Therefore, the Equal Pay Act of 1970, and the underlying provisions in support of the laws entrenched in the Equality Act of 2010, covers equal pay terms for all the employees doing the same job, with equal duties and responsibilities, and providing similar or broadly comparable value to the employer and customers to have all aspects of equal pay and benefits which includes:

• basic pay
• overtime rates
• performance related benefits
• hours of work
• access to pension schemes
• non-monetary terms
• annual leave entitlements.

Another critical factor undersigned within the Equal Pay Act of 1970 as well as the Equality Act of 2010 concerns when an employee feels that their salary is not equal with that of his or her counter parts who are doing the same job and have equal duties and responsibilities. In this regard, the employee having such a grievance is, by law, required to write to the employer asking for information and clarification that will help them to establish whether there is any existing difference in payment, and if that is the case, the employee reserves the right to know why that is happening directly from the employer. If for any reasons, as per the two pieces of legislation, the Equal Pay Act 1970 and the Equality Act of 2010, the employee has been unable to resolve the problem through formal and informal grievances procedures, they are free to launch a complain with the employment tribunal under the Equality Act 2010 while still working the same job or within six months after leaving the employer to whom the complain relates.

A court case example under the concept of Equal Pay Act 1970 and the Equality Act 2010 is that of Tesco which us the largest retailer in the UK. Tesco was recently sued by the female workforce led by the infamous Isobel Lodwicks great grandmother, all of whom were protesting the concept of equal pay for both men and women. More than 40,000 current as well as former store workers at Tesco filed a case against the firm under the Equality Act of 2010 while still citing the provisions of the Equal Pay Act of 1970, whereby men, for the same work, duties, and responsibilities as well as the provision of comparable value to the clients and the employer were being paid more than women. One of the workers, Pamela Jenkins, who is also a complainant and having worked for Tesco for the past 28 years, notes that at times, they even do the duties assumed to be for men (Croft, 2019). She notes that they are all providing the same value to the employer and customers, yet they’re being paid less than the men. The grocery and supermarket-based firm, Tesco, lost the case, and is now by law, obligated to compensate the workers for all the shift gaps, and adjust the pay rates to be similar for same or comparable job done with similar employer and client value for all the employees.

Part 2-recommended employment practices that employers should adopt

At the very basic capacity, employers, from a moral and humanitarian construct should realize and acknowledge that employees are people just like them. Additionally, employers should remain cognizant of the fact that without the input of the employees, the workplace cannot be in a position to be proactive and provide quality goods and services to the customers. Therefore, employers should, on the basis of humanitarian and valued based construct provided by the employees, ensure the workers are happy, satisfied, and appreciate and love working in a particular company or business. Therefore, employers can adopt the following recommended employment practices to ensure they are happy, the employees are happy, and there is value to all of the them including the customers.

The employers should comply with all the employment laws such as providing equal pay and equal terms and conditions for all the employees.

The employers should go above and beyond just fulfilling the confinement of the employment laws into other factions such as ensuring they work with memorandum of understanding and not just the contractual terms.

Employers should recruit and select the employees on the basis of merit such as skills, job performance ability, and experience regardless of gender, age, race, marital status, ethnicity, and religion among other factors.

The employers should treat all the employees fairly and with utmost respect all the time.

The employers should implement progressive human resource management systems and activities such as conducting team building activities.

Employers should provide equal opportunities for consideration for training and development with regards to employee strength, as well as needs in helping them to grow personally and professionally.

The employers should reward and compensate the employees fairly while basing this impetus on ability, performance, experience, and overall contribution to the business.

The employers should have an open book management styles such as the open-door system for employees to provide their input, air their grievances, and collaborate without fear or intimidation.

Above all, the employer should ensure the employees are working and operating within safe, healthy, and happy workplace.

Justification for the recommended employment practices that employers should adopt