COVID-19: suspension of reporting obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has announced that, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the approach to enforcing compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) specific duty reporting obligations in 2020 has been reviewed.

• In England, EHRC’s planned compliance activity on the specific duties for this year is suspended.
• In Wales, EHRC has postponed its approach to ensuring compliance with the duty to publish Strategic Equality Plans (due April 2020) and Annual Equality Reports (due March 2020) for six months and will review the position in October 2020.

Where possible, bodies who can meet these obligations are encouraged to do so and the EHRC has emphasised that the requirements of the general duty PSED (set out in section 149(1) Equality Act 2010) remain in force and are “critically important in ensuring that public bodies consider the needs of people with different protected characteristics as they respond to Coronavirus.”

The EHRC announcement regarding the Public Sector Equality Duty in full can be accessed here.

This announcement follows the decision taken by the EHRC and Government Equalities Office (GEO) and EHRC to suspend enforcement of the gender pay gap reporting deadlines for this reporting year (2019/20). For further details click here.

For further information and advice about compliance with equalities duties raised by the COVID-19 crisis, contact Eve Piffaretti.