Open call for evidence

Equality law call for evidence

• From: Office for Equality and Opportunity, The Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Malvern, Seema Malhotra MP, Lord Collins of Highbury, Dame Nia Griffith DBE MP, The Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP and The Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP
• Published: 7 April 2025

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Summary

This call for evidence invites feedback on areas of existing equality legislation and possible equality law reform. It is one of several evidence-gathering exercises which will help shape the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.

This call for evidence closes at
11:59pm on 30 June 2025

Call for evidence description

The government is seeking evidence and views on a number of areas of equality policy in order to identify barriers to opportunity and seek expert views on how to overcome these barriers. 

In some cases, this concerns evidence and views about areas of the existing legal framework,  to help better understand how the law is working in practice. In others, it is seeking evidence and views on areas of possible equality law reform that the current government is considering. 

The equality law call for evidence is looking for evidence and views on the following areas:

• the prevalence of pay discrimination on the basis of race and disability
• making the right to equal pay effective for ethnic minority and disabled people
• measures to ensure that outsourcing of services can no longer be used by employers to avoid paying equal pay
• improving the enforcement of equal pay rights by establishing an Equal Pay Regulatory  and Enforcement Unit, with the involvement of trade unions
• improving pay transparency
• strengthening protections against combined discrimination
• ensuring the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) is met by all parties exercising public functions
• creating and maintaining workplaces and working conditions free from harassment
• commencing the socio-economic duty

How to respond

We encourage you to respond online if possible.

Please read the call for evidence document.

Then submit your responses online: Call for evidence: Equality Law survey

Please email EqualityEvidence@cabinetoffice.gov.uk if:

• you would like to respond via email
• you have any other enquiries specifically relating to this call for evidence including requests for the document in an alternative format

If you would like to respond by post, please mark your correspondence ‘Call for evidence: Equality Law response’ and send it to the postal address.

Providing more than one response

You can provide more than one response to the call for evidence. For example, if you are a university research group, you might provide 2 separate responses - one response as a representative organisation and one response as an individual academic.

If you have any complaints or comments about the call for evidence process you should contact the Cabinet Office.

Documents

Call for evidence document: HTML

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-5247-6, CP 1291

HTML

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Privacy notice

HTML

Call for evidence document: web-accessible PDF

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-5247-6, CP 1291

PDF, 401 KB, 56 pages

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This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email accessible.formats@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Call for evidence document: large print (PDF)

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-5247-6, CP 1291

PDF, 937 KB, 114 pages

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This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

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Call for evidence document: British Sign Language (BSL)

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-5247-6, CP 1291

HTML

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Call for evidence document: Welsh translation

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-5247-6, CP 1291

HTML

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Easy Read booklet 1 of 7: Equality laws and how they could change

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-5247-6, CP 1291

PDF, 8.46 MB, 37 pages

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This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

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If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email accessible.formats@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Easy Read booklet 2 of 7: Booklet and survey

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-5247-6, CP 1291

PDF, 5.13 MB, 44 pages

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Easy Read booklet 3 of 7: Section 14 of the Equality Act 2010

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-5247-6, CP 1291

PDF, 1.35 MB, 6 pages

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Easy Read booklet 4 of 7: What the Equality Act 2010 says about harassment

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-5247-6, CP 1291

PDF, 1.62 MB, 7 pages

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Easy Read booklet 5 of 7: Sexual harassment at work

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-5247-6, CP 1291

PDF, 1.35 MB, 5 pages

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Easy Read booklet 6 of 7: Evidence that is missing about sexual harassment at work

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-5247-6, CP 1291

PDF, 931 KB, 4 pages

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Easy Read booklet 7 of 7: What the law says about claims for pay discrimination

Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-5247-6, CP 1291

PDF, 2.9 MB, 13 pages

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Published 7 April 2025