Equality Act code of practice consultation launched

Mon, 02 Nov 2020

Views are being sought on a code of practice (COP) that will help Island residents and organisations to understand their rights and responsibilities under the Equality Act 2017.

The code uses real life scenarios to inform people accessing goods and services, businesses and public sector organisations to avoid complaints and discrimination claims.

The examples include an employee refusing to serve a customer on grounds of sexual orientation, a club bouncer turning a customer away due to their age and the organiser of a cycle race assuming no one over a certain age would complete their event.

It is hoped the scenarios will help residents to understand discrimination and what they can do if they believe they have been discriminated against.

Ray Harmer MHK, Minister for Policy and Reform said: ‘The advice is intended to be best practice, and likely to be valuable to a range of people and organisations on the Isle of Man.’

Under the Act it is illegal on the Isle of Man to discriminate on the grounds of age, disability, gender, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation. However there are some exceptions which the code explains.

The six-week consultation, launched by the Cabinet Office, is available on the Consultation Hub until 7 December with paper and large print copies available on request at equality@gov.im or by calling 687580.   
 

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