Government consults over new discrimination law

The government has published proposals for outlawing discrimination at work based on sexual orientation, religion and age. The proposals mark the start of a consultation process over how it will implement the European Race and Employment Directives.

New legislation will be required to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation and religion, which must be in place by December 2003. The government has until December 2006 to introduce age discrimination legislation. The Directives also require some changes to the existing Race Relations Act and the Disability Discrimination Act, and proposals for how to do this are included in the consultation document Towards equality and diversity.

The consultation will cover issues such as the definition of harassment and whether there should be a single equality body to replace the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Disability Rights Commission.

TUC general secretary John Monks welcomed the consultation, saying: "We congratulate the government on its commitment to enact new anti-discrimination legislation. We are pleased they are consulting at this early stage and we will be making a detailed response."

The consultation period ends on 29 March 2002. Towards equality and diversity is available at www.dti.gov.uk/er/equality or by telephoning the DTI on 0800 028 8078.