Equality legislation and reporting

The Equality Act (2010) focuses on people with ‘protected characteristics’. These are:

Race
Disability
Sex
Age
Sexual orientation
Religion and belief
Gender reassignment
Marriage and civil partnership
Pregnancy and maternity.

The Equality Act (2010) requires the council to:

Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation
Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and

The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 (and later changes to the regulations) are designed to help public sector organisations meet these requirements. The regulations set out what we need to do to meet our Public Sector Equality Duty:

We:

Report on mainstreaming equality
Publish equality outcomes and report on progress
Assess and review policies and practices
Gather, use and publish employee information
Publish gender pay gap information
Publish statements on equal pay
Consider award criteria and contract conditions in relation to public procurement.