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27 May 2021


May news from the Equality and Human Rights Commission


New assessments of Government progress on human rights


This month we have published new information about the state of human rights in Britain on our dedicated website: HumanRightsTracker.com. The online tool allows anyone to track how the UK and Welsh Governments are performing across a range of human rights issues. You can use this information to understand where legal and policy improvements need to be made and how the rights of people in Britain can be better protected.


The Human Rights Tracker ranks performance in different subject areas as either sustained progress, moderate progress, limited progress, no progress or regression. The website now includes summaries of the actions that the UK and Welsh Governments have taken since 2016 in relation to twelve new human rights topics:


Equality and human rights legal framework [link removed]


Mental health [link removed]


Political and civic participation, including political representation [link removed]


Health outcomes and experience in the healthcare system [link removed]


Human rights abuses abroad [link removed]


International cooperation, including with human rights mechanisms [link removed]


Youth justice [link removed]


Educational attainment [link removed]


School exclusions and managing ‘challenging behaviour’ [link removed]


Housing [link removed]


Hate crime and hate speech [link removed]


Human trafficking and modern slavery [link removed] While there has been some progress in certain areas, there are also significant challenges in others, including as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s clear that more needs to be done to understand, protect and strengthen people’s rights and any reduction in rights protections must be challenged. We will continue to publish further assessments of government action and progress on the Tracker during the remainder of 2021.


Visit the Tracker [link removed]


Using the Tracker to 'do the rights thing'


The Human Rights Tracker has been created to give individuals and organisations an easy way to track progress on international human rights obligations. Mary Sherwood, a Councillor for Swansea Council and WLGA Joint Spokesperson for Equality, Anti-Poverty and Welfare Reform, has written a blog on how the Human Rights Tracker can be used by organisations to scrutinise government action and identify areas where further progress is needed.


Read the blog [link removed]


[link removed]


Investigation finds that care provider acted unlawfully by asking questions about health during recruitment


Following an investigation [link removed] , we have found that care provider Elite Careplus Ltd acted unlawfully by asking potential recruits questions about their health during the application process. We are now reminding all employers that it is generally unlawful to ask questions about prospective employees health or disability before a formal offer of employment is made.


In November 2018, we received evidence from the National AIDS Trust that Elite Careplus Limited (ECL) was asking questions about applicants’ health during the recruitment process. We launched enforcement action against ECL and found the questions to be unlawful. The care agency has now removed the questions from its job application form and updated its recruitment process.


ECL used a job application that included a medical questionnaire asking applicants if they ever had a number of health conditions. These included, but were not limited to:


‘tuberculosis, asthma, bronchitis or chest complaints’


‘depression, mental illness or nervous breakdown’


‘dermatitis or skin trouble’.They were also asked if there was:


‘any current / recent medication condition or treatment which might affect you [sic] attendance or performance at work’, and


‘any illness / medical condition that prevented you from attending work, normal duties or activities for more than one week during the past year’.Section 60 of the Equality Act 2010 protects disabled people from discrimination by forbidding questions about health conditions or disability except in specific circumstances. If an employer is asking questions about your health or disability on a job application or during an interview, you can report this to us by completing this online form [link removed] .


To ensure that employers are clear on what Section 60 means for them, our Head of Enforcement Joanna Gregson has outlined what the law says in a short video.


Watch on YouTube [link removed]


Compulsory vaccinations for care home staff: our response to the Government's consultation


We have responded to the Department of Health and Social Care's consultation on making vaccination a condition of deployment for staff working in adult care homes by saying that, whilst it is reasonable to require care home staff to be vaccinated in order to work directly with older and disabled people, robust safeguards must be in place to prevent unlawful discrimination or human rights breaches.


In legislating for mandatory vaccination the Government is right to prioritise protection of the right to life for residents and staff. But it must ensure that any requirement for vaccination remains proportionate and fair.


This means that the Government should take appropriate steps to mitigate the risk of indirect discrimination for those who cannot receive the vaccine for medical reasons by implementing legislative exemptions. Any mandatory vaccination requirement should also contain a 'sunset clause' and be subject to regular review to ensure that it remains proportionate.


The Government should also ensure that there is easy access to vaccination for all, and that workers don’t face any financial detriment resulting from being vaccinated, such as additional travel costs, or loss of pay if they have side effects from vaccination and either don’t receive sick pay at their usual rate or are ineligible for Statutory Sick Pay.


Read our full consultation response [link removed]


Strengthening the right to independent living


Under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [link removed] , which the UK is a signatory of, disabled people have the right to live independently as part of the community. This means that disabled people should have as much choice and control over their lives as others, with equal value and dignity.


In our briefing paper, published earlier this month, we explore whether the UK Government is fulfilling the right to independent living in England and make recommendations that support disabled people's autonomy and full inclusion in society.


Read the briefing [link removed]


BBC programme asks 'Is Uni Racist?'


In October 2019 we published the results of our inquiry into racial harassment in higher education: Universities Challenged [link removed] . Our inquiry found that racial harassment was occurring at an alarmingly high rate across British universities and that many Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are not only unaware of the scale of the issue but were overconfident in their ability to handle it.


Since then Universities UK, the umbrella body for 140 universities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, has vowed to tackle racial harassment on campus. Last year it published recommendations [link removed] for all higher education institutes.


Now BBC3 has investigated whether universities in the UK are doing enough to combat racism, speaking to students, staff and experts (including our Acting CEO Alastair Pringle) to find out more.


Watch on BBC iPlayer [link removed]


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Equality and Human Rights Commission
Fleetbank House, 2-6 Salisbury Square, EC4Y 8JX


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