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Employment and incentives law has been a key area of expertise for Lewis Silkin for many years - it currently represents approximately 40% of our business. Our team of 68 dedicated employment and incentives specialists, including 16 partners, is consistently highly ranked by the legal directories and won 'Employment of the Year' at The Lawyer Awards 2008.

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UK Challenged Over Incorrect Implementation of EC Equality Directives

Posted on November 27, 2009 by Lewis Silkin

The European Commission has issued two reasoned opinions asserting that the United Kingdom has incorrectly implemented EC discrimination laws.  The first opinion concerns the EC Equal Treatment Framework Directive (No.2000/78), which prohibits discrimination in employment on grounds of age, religion or belief, disability and sexual orientation.  According to the Commission's press release, the opinion asserts:

  • UK legislation has no clear ban on 'instruction to discriminate' and no clear appeals procedure in the case of disabled people.
  • The exceptions to the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for religious employers are broader than those permitted by the Directive.

The second opinion relates to implementation of the EC Equal Treatment Directive (No.2002 /73), which prohibits direct and indirect sex discrimination in employment.  A further press release issued by the Commission notes that the issues being raised include:

  • The definition of indirect discrimination in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 is too narrow as it does not cover potential discrimination.
  • The exceptions to the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sex for certain jobs ('genuine occupational qualifications') are too wide.

The Government has two months to reply to the reasoned opinions.  If the Commission is not satisfied with its response, it can refer the matter to the European Court of Justice.  That outcome is, however, unlikely because various measures contained in the Equality Bill currently before Parliament would appear to rectify most of the defects alleged by the Commission.

This entry was written by Richard Lister
Tags: Bona Fide Occupational Qualification, Disability, European Commission, Gender, Indirect Discrimination, Sexual Orientation
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