Northern Ireland falling behind equality laws in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland

Lewis Silkin, an employment law specialist, has welcomed the Northern Ireland Assembly's inquiry into the discrepancies in equality legislation between Northern Ireland, Great Britain, and the Republic of Ireland. Despite its pioneering history in combating sectarian workplace discrimination, Northern Ireland now lags behind in protecting vulnerable groups such as the elderly, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ community members.

The Committee for the Executive Office in the Northern Ireland Assembly initiated the inquiry to identify and understand these legislative gaps and their impacts. Lewis Silkin has responded by highlighting several areas where Northern Ireland's equality laws are deficient compared to its neighbors.

Key Points Highlighted by Lewis Silkin:

• Age Discrimination: Northern Ireland lacks protections against age discrimination in the provision of goods and services.
• Disability Discrimination: The region does not protect against indirect discrimination or discrimination arising from a disability, protections that have been in place in Great Britain since 2010.
• Gender Reassignment: The process in Northern Ireland requires "medical supervision," whereas broader approaches are taken in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.
• Gender Discrimination: Northern Ireland lacks updated monitoring obligations to detect and address gender pay gaps, making it an outlier in Europe.

Ciara Fulton (pictured), Head of Lewis Silkin NI, emphasised the importance of the inquiry for the people and businesses in Northern Ireland: “Northern Ireland does not currently offer any protection to people against age discrimination in the provision of goods and services. We also make it harder for disabled people to bring claims for discrimination by not providing protection against indirect discrimination or discrimination arising from a disability as has been available in Great Britain since 2010,” said Ms. Fulton.

She added, “The process of gender reassignment in Northern Ireland requires ‘medical supervision’ and we need to consider the wider approach taken in Britain and Ireland to this. Even in areas such as gender discrimination, we don’t have up-to-date monitoring obligations to detect gender pay gaps, let alone the right tools for eliminating these, which makes Northern Ireland an outlier in Europe.”

Historical Context:

Lewis Silkin's roots include Jones Cassidy Brett, whose founding partners played a pivotal role in shaping Northern Ireland’s fair employment legislation and pioneering workplace discrimination efforts.

Future Outlook:

Ms. Fulton advocates for harmonising and simplifying equality laws in Northern Ireland to address inconsistencies and complexities, ensuring uniform protection against discrimination across all grounds. This would benefit both employers and employees.

“The differences in equality protection are now significant, and it is time for us to take on the challenge of correcting this and leveling the playing field. We are grateful to the Committee for the Executive Office for tackling this important issue and look forward to presenting our evidence. We urge people to engage with the inquiry,” she said.

The inquiry represents a crucial step toward updating and improving Northern Ireland's equality legislation to align more closely with Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, enhancing protections for all individuals in the region.