The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has reported that one current and one former employee of London and Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) have won a race discrimination case supported by EHRC, receiving a financial settlement of £95,000. An employment tribunal found that Natalie James and Joanna Saine were discriminated against by L&Q when they were overlooked for promotions. Three vacancies were originally advertised by L&Q for leadership positions. The three black employees, including James and Saine, were found 'not appointable' by L&Q when the third vacancy was re-advertised externally. The other two vacancies were filled by white employees. An employment tribunal found that L&Q's hiring manager had made appointments on a subjective view, looking at who would 'fit in', rather than an objective assessment of qualifications and role suitability.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published the response that it submitted on 16 January 2024 to the consultation by the Department for Business and Trade 'Hiring agency staff to cover industrial action'. In the consultation the government proposes repealing regulation 7 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations 2003 which prohibits the use of agency workers to cover strike action.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has entered into a legally binding agreement with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) to tackle concerns over workplace discrimination and harassment. This action follows an independent review that uncovered a 'toxic' workplace culture within the WRU, including instances of sexism, racism, and homophobia. The agreement mandates several key actions, including compulsory equality, diversity, and inclusion training for all staff and leadership, a review of corporate policies, implementation of a standardised system for recording discrimination complaints, and a reassessment of the use of non-disclosure agreements. The EHRC will oversee the WRU's compliance with these commitments over the next year, aiming to foster a more inclusive and protective work environment within Wales's national sporting body.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has served Pontins with an unlawful act notice after an investigation found multiple instances of race discrimination against Irish travellers. Pontins was found to have committed several clear breaches of the Equality Act 2010 including creating a list of common Irish surnames labelled as ‘undesirable guests’ and declining bookings, instructing call centre staff to listen for Irish accents and labelling Irish Travellers and their associates as ‘undesirables’. Pontins also maintained a ‘banned guest’ list containing suspected Irish Travellers and introduced rules requiring guests to appear on the electoral register, a practice found to be discriminatory against Gypsies and Travellers, who are less likely to be on the register. The EHRC has set out what Pontins must do to rectify the situation and Pontins must produce an action plan to set out how it intends to meet these recommendations.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) to address discrimination and promote inclusion across fire and rescue services. The agreement forms part of the EHRC's uniformed services programme, which seeks to address race and sex-based discrimination, harassment and victimisation within the fire, police and armed forces. Under the MoU, the EHRC will deliver a bespoke support package in 2026, including a webinar series on preventing sexual harassment, a peer-to-peer learning programme and sector-specific case studies. The EHRC will also contribute to the NFCC's Listen and Learn sessions and provide feedback on key products such as the Culture Dashboard Methodology. In turn, the NFCC will circulate EHRC surveys and event invitations through its networks and nominate representatives to support the development of EHRC guidance for the sector.

Law360, London: Embattled official guidance on providing single-sex services that comply with a recent UK Supreme Court ruling will not apply to workplaces, Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson said on 11 February 2026 in a meeting with legal campaigners.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has submitted a report to the United Nations (UN) titled ‘economic, social and cultural rights in Great Britain: 2025 submission to United Nations’. The report assesses the state of economic, social and cultural rights in Great Britain and forms part of EHRC’s work on monitoring the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The measures suggested in the report are mainly aimed at the UK and Welsh governments. Key recommendations focus on enhancing ICESCR rights in domestic law, tackling socio-economic disadvantage, and improving various public services including employment support, social security, housing, and healthcare.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has shared its updated statutory Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations with the Minister for Women and Equalities for approval. Following ministerial approval, the government must lay the draft Code before Parliament for 40 days before it can be brought into force.

Law360: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is making moves to update legal guidance on single-sex spaces following a ruling on 16 April 2025 by the UK Supreme Court that the legal definition of sex in anti-discrimination law covers only biological sex amid calls to update critical legislation.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has updated its Human Rights Tracker to reflect the UK and Welsh Governments’ progress in implementing the latest recommendations from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). While the EHRC identified areas of progress, it concluded that both governments need to take further steps to fully meet their international human rights obligations.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has updated its guidance on discriminatory adverts. The main updates are to the section 'When is an advert which restricts a job or service to particular groups unlawful'. The guidance now includes examples in relation to an 'occupational requirement' under Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010 and where an occupational requirement applies, the employer must make sure that it is objectively justifiable. Guidance in relation to the protected characteristic of 'sex' now states that 'sex' means a person's legal sex as recorded on their birth certificate or their Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). This means that a sex-based occupational requirement that an applicant is a woman, as is common within specialist support services for women, such as rape counselling, will include women who are recorded female at birth and also transgender women who have obtained a GRC. The guidance notes, however, that Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010 also permits an occupational requirement to exclude transgender persons where it is objectively justified, and this can include people who have obtained a GRC. It states that a 'sex-based' occupational requirement to be a woman under Schedule 9 cannot include transgender women who have not obtained a GRC, as they do not have legal status as women under the Equality Act 2010.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published an updated technical guidance for employers on the steps they can take to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace ahead of a new legal duty which will require employers to take reasonable steps, from 26 October 2024. The EHRC has also published an eight-step practical guide (detailed in full below) to assist with this preventative duty, covering steps such as developing an effective anti-harassment policy, using a reporting system that allows workers to raise an issue either anonymously or in name, and regularly monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of an employers actions. This list is non-exhaustive.