The Isle of Man Government has published a Draft Equality Bill 2015 ("the Bill"). Bill is based on the English Equality Act 2010 and, once enacted, will ensure that all Isle of Man equality provisions are comprehensive and also contained in one piece of legislation. The Government is currently consulting in relation to the legislation and have asked for responses to be submitted by Friday 14 November 2015.

The Bill will repeal 12 other Acts of Tynwald, including all existing equality legislation such at the Employment (Sex Discrimination) Act 2000.

The Bill provides various protected characteristics upon which discrimination is unlawful under the Bill including age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy/maternity.

When the Equality Act 2010 was enacted in England, it was basically largely a consolidation exercise as discrimination law had developed in an ad hoc manner over a long period of time and there was already legislation to cover all of the main protected characteristics. The principles did not change, they were merely harmonised and extended. By comparison, the Isle of Man only currently has limited legislation in the area of discrimination which basically extends to covering sex discrimination. Therefore, this Bill would herald significant changes to the current legislative landscape of Manx industrial relations law.

As a result, prior to the introduction of any such legislation, Isle of Man Employers will need to thoroughly review and, most likely, change and update some of their policies and practices. Those businesses that don't have an Equal Opportunities Policy would be strongly advised to put one in place. The Bill provides that direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation in relation to any of the previously listed protected characteristics would be discriminatory.

Furthermore, the Bill, if enacted, will apply to all stages of employment including the pre-employment recruitment stage, throughout the employment and post-employment. The legislation will also apply to discrimination outside of an employment context, such as in the provision of goods and services such as education, benefits and housing. Therefore, its potential scope is very wide and it will affect all businesses in all sectors whether large or small.

Of particular concern to businesses will be the new legislation regarding disability discrimination. There will be a duty placed on businesses to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that there is no discrimination on the grounds of disability. This could include implementing changes such as physical modifications to buildings, putting in place new policies and considering flexible working requests. What constitutes "disability" and "reasonable" will be determined in secondary legislation and guidance which has, so far, not yet been published for consultation.

Age discrimination is also going to be an important new change that is likely to impact all businesses. As example is that the legislation will mean that employers can only lawfully set a retirement age if it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Finally, the Department of Economic Development has also used the consultation process opportunity to seek views on some miscellaneous employment additional issues, e.g. zero hours contracts, changes to employment tribunal procedures, tribunal fees and cost awards.

Caren Pegg, Partner and Head of Appleby's Global Employment Team is also leading the consultation response for the Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce which comprises many local business members. There has been overwhelming demand by the members to attend consultation workshops which will discuss the proposed new legislation and any concerns relating to it. Three sessions have been set up for Chamber of Commerce Members to attend and take an active part in providing feedback on the new legislation. The response to the workshops is encouraging as it shows that the Isle of Man business community wants to learn about the new proposals and actively consult in relation to the legislation.

There is no doubt that, if the legislation is passed and enacted, it will represent one of the most historic pieces of employment legislation in recent years in the Isle of Man. It will signal a brave new world that businesses will need to embrace and adapt to.

The consultation documents that have been published can be accessed and downloaded on the following link:

http://www.gov.im/ConsultationDetail.gov?id=454

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