This Practice Note contains references to case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. For guidance on whether EU judgments are binding on UK courts, see Practice Note: Assimilated law — Assimilated case law. The equal pay principle and pensions In its judgment in the Barber case handed down on 17 May 1990, the EU Court of Justice held that pensions paid under the terms of a private occupational pension scheme were deferred remuneration, so that the right to equal pay under Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome (the predecessor of Article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)) applied to that part of a person’s remuneration which consisted of pension benefits as it did to any other part of their pay. The EU Court of Justice in Barber also held that the right to equal pay had direct effect in relation to occupational pension schemes and that it was for the national courts to safeguard the rights conferred on individuals by that provision.

What are guaranteed minimum pensions? Guaranteed minimum pensions (GMPs) arrived on the pension scene on 6 April 1978, at the same time as the State Earnings-Related Pension (SERPS) was introduced. The relevant legislation (then the Social Security Act 1975 and the Social Security Pensions Act 1975) provided that an employee’s employment could be contracted out of SERPS if certain conditions were satisfied. The conditions were in essence that the employee was a member of a pension scheme which would provide a pension of a guaranteed minimum amount. That guaranteed minimum pension was of course intended to be equal to the pension the employee would have received under SERPS. It was expected that in general the pension payable under the relevant scheme would be higher than the GMP. The attraction of contracting-out was that since the state would not be obliged to pay SERPS in addition to the member’s basic state pension (unless in any particular case the GMP was less than the SERPS entitlement would have been), a reduced level of national

This Practice Note contains references to case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). For guidance on whether EU judgments are binding on UK courts, see Practice Note: Assimilated law — Assimilated case law. On 17 May 1990 the European Court of Justice decided, in Barber v Guardian Royal Exchange, that men and women’s entitlement to equal pay for equal work or work of equal value extends to that part of their remuneration which consists of pension benefits. This often meant that a scheme’s governing documentation had to be amended to provide equal pension benefits for men and women. The process of applying the principle in Barber became known as equalisation. Although at first the precise scope of Barber was not entirely clear, the outstanding issues were very largely resolved by further cases culminating in Coloroll Trustees v Russell. For further information, see Practice Note: Equalisation and Barber—the pension implications. This Practice Note considers the courts’ approach to certain practical difficulties

The Government’s Equality (Race and Disability) Bill was notably absent from today’s King’s Speech, despite expectations in some quarters that the legislation might be carried forward into the new parliamentary session.

Public Law analysis: The Supreme Court held that the terms ‘man’, ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) refer to biological sex. Its relevant provisions cannot be interpreted as including ‘certificated sex’ under a gender recognition certificate (GRC) without rendering them incoherent and unworkable. In relation to sex discrimination, a person has the protected characteristic of their biological sex only. The relevant provisions of the EqA 2010 fall within the section 9(3) of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA 2004) and so displace the rule in s 9(1) of that Act that the gender of a person with a GRC is for all purposes the acquired gender. This is a very significant judgment on the meaning of the EqA 2010, and on the law of discrimination particularly as it affects women and trans people. It must be understood by all those who advise on or are concerned with discrimination law, particularly employers, service providers and public authorities. Written by the LexisNexis Public Law team.

Please note that the obligations to make reasonable adjustments to the physical features of common parts are not yet in force. Therefore, until such time as they are, this Practice Note is for information only. Physical features Section 20(4) of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) imposes a general duty to take reasonable steps to make reasonable adjustments to a physical feature where they put a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage in relation to a relevant matter compared to a person who is not disabled so as to avoid the disadvantage. The physical feature may: • arise from the design or construction of a building • be a feature of an approach to, exit from, or access to a building • be a fixture or fitting, or furniture, furnishings, materials, equipment or other chattels, in or on premises, or • any other physical element or quality Compliance with the duty may involve: • removing the physical feature in question • altering it, or • providing a reasonable means of avoiding it Common

This Practice Note discusses the sections of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) which activate prohibitions on discrimination in schools, the different types of discrimination including sex, race, religion or belief, age, marriage or civil partnership and disability and the exceptions that may apply. It notes that the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017, SI 2017/353 require public authorities with education functions to publish information annually to demonstrate their compliance with the public sector equality duty (PSED) under EqA 2010, s 149. The public sector equality duty Under the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017, SI 2017/353, particular duties are imposed on public authorities with education functions. These authorities are required to publish information to demonstrate their compliance with the PSED under EqA 2010, s 149. This is due at yearly intervals. See Practice Notes: Specific public sector equality duties—England and Specific public sector equality duties—Wales. The public authorities in question include: • a county council or district council • the governing body of an educational establishment

This Practice Note summarises the law and provides practical guidance to service providers in respect of their obligations to provide goods, services and facilities to their customers in a non-discriminatory way under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010). It explains the protected characteristics under EqA 2010 and gives practical examples of the forms of direct discrimination, discrimination by association, discrimination by perception, indirect discrimination, harassment, victimisation and discrimination arising from a disability, and examples of what can be done to avoid discrimination. It also examines enforcement and remedies relating to EqA 2010 claims and its territorial scope. See also: Compliance with the Equality Act 2010 by service providers—checklist. For information on the application of EqA 2010 in the context of employment relationships, see Practice Note: Liability of employers and employees under the Equality Act 2010. Protected characteristics EqA 2010 ensures that people are treated equally regardless of the characteristics which they might have. In relation to the provision of services

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note considers the obligations placed on the drivers of hackney carriages and private hire vehicles (PHVs) by Part 12 of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) and section 1 of the Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Act 2022 (TPHV(DP)A 2022). It covers the obligation to carry assistance dogs and designated wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs). A local licensing authority (LLA) is required to adhere to those parts of the guidance that is statutory guidance and should have regard to the non-statutory parts of the guidance. The guidance on ‘Access to taxis and private hire vehicles for disabled users’ is accessible here. EqA 2010 (as amended by TPHV(DP)A 2022 with effect from 28 June 2022) imposes duties upon: • the drivers of hackney carriages and PHVs • operators of PHVs, and • local authorities to enable better access for disabled people to public transport. Assistance

Part 4 of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) imposes EqA 2010 duties in relation to premises. It covers disposals of premises, management of premises (including possession and eviction) and a duty to make reasonable adjustments to premises. The duty to make adjustments to common parts is not yet in force. For more information, see Practice Note: Equality Act 2010—common parts—reasonable adjustments—physical features. The provisions relating to premises do not apply to: • the protected characteristics of age or marriage and civil partnership (for more information on protected characteristics, see Equality—overview) • certain other forms of discrimination relating to other parts of EqA 2010 (eg relating to work or education) • accommodation that is only for short stays for people who live elsewhere and accommodation that is for the purpose only of exercising a public function. However, where social landlords manage such forms of housing (eg homelessness accommodation), this will still usually fall within EqA 2010, Pt 3 (services and public functions) Disposal A person (A) who has the right to dispose of the whole or part

The Equality Network has written a letter to the United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Graeme Reid, signed by 16 other LGBTI+ equality and human rights organisations, and requesting intervention on trans rights in the United Kingdom following the Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland v the Scottish Ministers. Dated 14 July 2025, the letter urges Mr Reid to write to the UK Minister for Equalities regarding potential human rights violations if consultation proposals for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations are approved as statutory guidance. In addition, the Equality Network and Scottish Trans have published a report entitled ‘The Erosion of Trans Rights in the UK,’ which analyses potential human rights implications arising from the recent case.

1 Policy statement 1.1 The Company is committed to achieving gender equality in our business and implementing interventions that will drive progress towards closing the gender pay gap. We recognise the importance of creating a more inclusive workplace and supporting employees at different stages of their lives, including supporting employees experiencing menopause. 2 Plan summary and scope 2.1 Plan period: [insert period, eg April 2026–March 2027] 2.2 Responsible person: [insert name] 2.3 EDI lead/plan owner: [insert name] 2.4 Geographical scope: UK 2.5 Plan objectives: [insert details] 3 Legal and policy framework 3.1 There will be a statutory requirement under the Employment Rights Act 2025 for employers with more than 250 employees to produce an action plan covering certain matters relating to gender equality, ie: 3.1.1 addressing the gender pay gap; and 3.1.2 providing menopause support. The