The Equality Act 2006 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Equality Act 2006 - Essay Example They are aimed at making the most of the talent in the workforce – rather than excluding or marginalizing sectors of the workforce, which was happening universally prior to government intervention in the 1970s and since: â€Å"The general duty places a proactive responsibility upon all public bodies to ensure that their services, practices and policies are developed with the different needs of women and men in mind. This will lead to a more inclusive society with high quality contemporary services - targeted to meet the specific needs of men and women.†2 Interestingly, this Act has already brought legal challenges. On 21 March 2007 the House of Lords refused to remove the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007, which came into force on 30 April. Catholic adoption agencies had routinely refused to place children with gay couples. The government gave the Catholic adoption agencies an additional 21 months to prepare, but as Baroness Andrews told the House: â₠¬Å"At present there are 116 separate pieces of equality legislation in force - 35 Acts, 52 statutory instruments, 13 codes of practice, and 16 European Commission directives and recommendations. They come with 2,500 pages of guidance.†3 It is expected that a forthcoming European Union Directive will require further legislation that will seek to provide redress for those discriminated against in the provision of goods and services on the grounds of gender reassignment. "Even the most well-intentioned businesses, and there are an awful lot of them, dont know when theyve complied [with the existing laws]. Its almost impossible unless you have vast armies of bureaucrats." 4 Mr Phillips alleged that many businesses resented the waste of time and money involved in being taken to an Employment Tribunal.