April news from the Equality and Human Rights Commission |
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Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report
This week, we have published our latest report for the United Nations (UN), looking at how human rights are being upheld in the UK. The report is part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process – when UN countries review each other’s progress on putting human rights into practice.
Our recommendations include ensuring that that any reform of the Human Rights Act does not weaken protections for individuals, that social care policy - including proposed reforms - measurably enhances the rights of people with care needs, and that more effort is made to tackle gaps in educational attainment across protected characteristic groups. |
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Upcoming renewal of our international accreditation
Our ‘A’ status as a National Human Rights Institution is up for renewal in October 2022. This is an important process for us as retaining our ‘A’ status provides us with access to key human rights mechanisms in the UN, strengthening our ability to promote, protect and uphold human rights.
This is a peer review process overseen by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI). The Sub Committee on Accreditation is now inviting civil society groups to submit evidence on how we are performing as a National Human Rights Institution.
The deadline for submitting reports is 01 June 2022 and should be emailed to the Sub Committee on Accreditation. Further information about this process can be found on the Global Alliance for National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) website. |
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Guidance for providers of single-sex services and spaces
This month, we produced a practical guide to the law in relation to single-sex services and spaces. It is essential that all organisations looking to provide a single or separate-sex service understand the law in order to keep everyone, including trans people, safe from discrimination.
We have produced this guidance to help service providers make lawful decisions about any services they offer to women and men separately or differently.
The guidance explains the permitted sex and gender reassignment exceptions in the Equality Act 2010. It covers a range of scenarios, including where organisations are providing facilities which are shared by their service users and their own staff. |
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Letters to local authorities on the war in Ukraine
We have written to local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales about the war in Ukraine and their obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty to eliminate discrimination, advance equality and foster good relations for people fleeing to the UK.
This follows concerns, shared with equality bodies and National Human Rights Institutions in other European countries, that some public services are struggling to respond to the needs of people fleeing Ukraine. Furthermore, European bodies are also reporting an increase in discrimination aimed at Ukrainians seeking sanctuary, Russian and Russian-speaking communities and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities fleeing Ukraine. |
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Legal agreements tackling harassment in the workplace
We have recently concluded our legal agreements with three employers - Sainsbury's, National Highways and Paradigm Precision Burnley - which helped each organisation tackle harassment in the workplace. These legal agreements were implemented to ensure that employers were taking the necessary steps to prevent harassment occurring against their employees and to improve their approach to equality and diversity.
As required by the agreements, they were required to carry out action plans and in doing so, are helping to protect their employees from experiencing such treatment in the future. All employers have a duty of care to protect their workers and are responsible for ensuring that workers are protected.
You can read more about these legal agreements on our website:
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Preventing sexual harassment at work: checklist and action plan for the hospitality industry
Alongside UK Hospitality, this week we launched a checklist and action plan to help employers in the hospitality industry deal with sexual harassment against their staff. More than half of women and two-thirds of LGBT people report experiencing workplace sexual harassment, with the problem particularly acute in the hospitality sector.
This practical resource contains safety and preventative advice for hospitality venues. For example, advising that consistent policies are put in place for dealing with customers who behave inappropriately around staff and avoiding having a single member of staff wait on a large group, when sexual harassment is more likely to take place. |
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Response to Workforce Disability Reporting consultation
This month, we responded to the UK Government's consultation on disability workforce reporting. In our consultation response, we highlighted that no one should be at a disadvantage in the workplace because of their disability, and that despite Government efforts, disability employment and pay gaps remain stubbornly high, showing that more robust action is needed.
Mandatory reporting on workforce diversity, supplemented by action plans, is the best way to tackle pay and employment gaps. But disability reporting is complex, and in order to be effective, employers need to have good quality advice and guidance so that they are able to gather and use robust data to tackle inequality. We want to work with Government and others to support employers so that they can open up opportunities for disabled workers, and create more inclusive workplaces. |
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Response to health and social care integration white paper
We have responded to the UK Government’s health and social care integration white paper. Better integration in health and social care presents an opportunity for the sector to strengthen its equality and human rights standards for everyone.
We recommend that the proposals must explicitly: - Set out how government and public bodies will protect, respect and fulfil service users’ human rights under the Human Rights Act
- Set out how the proposals will meet the government’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, particularly under Article 19 (right to independent living)
- Set out how the proposals will drive progress on equality and ensure non-discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.
See our response for our more detailed views on specific consultation questions. |
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Preparations for CFNHRI Biennial Meeting
On 16 -17 June 2022 members of the Commonwealth Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (CFNHRI) will gather in Kigali, Rwanda for their biennial meeting. The meeting, which takes place just before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, was postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Its theme will be ‘Human rights for all at the heart of recovery efforts during and after Covid-19’.
We have chaired CFNHRI since 2018 and at the biennial meeting we will formally pass the Chairship on to the Rwanda National Commission for Human Rights (RNCHR). In preparation for this, representatives from RNCHR visited the Equality and Human Rights Commission in London and Manchester at the beginning of March, and our colleagues who have been working on the CFNHRI project then visited Kigali, they are pictured here with the board of RNCHR.
For more information, visit the CFNHRI website.
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Equality and Human Rights Commission
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