The Equality Framework Directive''
2000/78/EC
is an

EU Directive A directive is a legal act of the European Union that requires Member state of the European Union, member states to achieve particular goals without dictating how the member states achieve those goals. A directive's goals have to be made the go ...

, and a major part of

EU labour law European labour law regulates basic transnational standards of employment and partnership at work in the European Union and countries adhering to the European Convention on Human Rights. In setting regulatory floors to competition for job-creatin ...

which aims to combat discrimination on grounds of disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief and age in the workplace. It accompanies the Directive 2000/43/EC on equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin and the Directive 2006/54/EC on equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation.

Background

Since the

Treaty of Amsterdam The Treaty of Amsterdam, officially the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, was signed on 2 October 1997, and entered into force on 1 May 1999; i ...

came into force in 1999, new EU laws, or Directives, have been enacted in the area of anti-discrimination. The Directive entered into force on 2 December 2000 and gave member states three years to transpose the Directive into law, with an additional three years for legislation in the area of age and disability.

Exemptions

There were two exemptions to Article 15 concerning Northern Ireland agreed during the negotiations specifically to ensure that the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...

can take

positive action Positive action consists of measures which are targeted at protected groups in order to enable or encourage members of those groups to overcome or minimise disadvantage; or to meet the different needs of the protected group; or to enable or enco ...

to recruit both Catholic and Protestant officers (following the reforms suggested by the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland).

Implementation

The Directive is currently implemented in England, Wales and Scotland through the

Equality Act 2010 The Equality Act 2010 (c. 15) is an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed during the Brown ministry with the primary purpose of consolidating, updating and supplementing the numerous prior Acts and Regulations, that formed the basis o ...

(initially by the

Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 were secondary legislation in the United Kingdom, which prohibited employers unreasonably discriminating against employees on grounds of sexual orientation, perceived sexual orientat ...

and

), and in Northern Ireland through the various Fair Employment and Treatment Orders). Germany implemented the directive by creation of its General Act on Equal Treatment, (AGG) in August 2006.

References

External links

Text of the DirectiveEuropean Commission Combatting Discrimination
2000 in law 2000 in the European Union Ageism law Anti-discrimination law in the European Union Disability law European Union directives European Union employment directives Homophobia Religious discrimination 2000 in LGBTQ history

Background

Exemptions

Implementation

See also

References

Further reading

External links