The general approach to tackling discrimination in this county requires fundamental reform, according to a new Discussion Paper published by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).
In ‘Liberalising Discrimination Law’ Daniel Freeman and Alex Morton argue that the UK’s approach to tackling discrimination must be restricted to outlawing direct discrimination, rather than attempting to equalise outcomes between different groups.
This would require stripping back the Equality Act to:
+ Abolish the concept of indirect discrimination in UK law. Stop allowing the use of ‘positive action’ in employment and promotion decisions
+ Stop outlawing different pay for different work deemed as ‘equal value’ by the courts
+ Repeal the Public Sector Equality Duty. The Act states that public sector bodies must have ‘due regard to the need to… advance equality of opportunity between persons who share relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not’. It also requires a corporate body to encourage participation in public life by a person from a minority in which participation is low
By stripping back these features of the Equality Act, Morton and Freeman argue the state would treat people as individuals, rather than primarily as members of certain groups. The current approach does not support the genuinely disadvantaged and creates a two-tier society.
Read more on the original article: https://propertyindustryeye.com/britains-approach-to-tackling-discrimination-needs-fundamental-reform-says-iea-paper/
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