Overview

This bill aims to amend the Equality Act 2010 to prevent employers from discriminating against employees based on age when providing insurance or related financial services. It removes a provision in the Act that allowed for such age-based discrimination.

Description

The Employment Equality (Insurance etc.) Bill seeks to make a specific change to the Equality Act 2010. Currently, Schedule 9 allows for some exceptions regarding age discrimination in relation to insurance and financial services provided by employers. This bill removes paragraph 14 of Schedule 9, eliminating this exception. This means employers will no longer be able to justify age discrimination when offering insurance or financial products to their staff.

The bill also grants the Secretary of State the power to create further regulations to fully implement the changes made to the Equality Act 2010. These regulations may modify, remove, or replace other existing legislation. Any such regulations will be subject to parliamentary approval.

The bill applies to England, Wales, and Scotland and will come into effect three months after it receives Royal Assent.

Government Spending

The bill does not directly specify any government spending. The cost of implementing the changes, including any potential legal challenges or administrative adjustments, is not detailed in the provided text. Any additional costs related to regulation creation and enforcement would likely be determined after the bill is passed.

Groups Affected

This bill primarily affects:

• Employers: Will be prohibited from using age as a factor when providing or determining the cost of insurance or related financial services to employees. This may impact their costs and processes.
• Employees (older employees especially): Will be protected from age discrimination when it comes to employer-provided insurance benefits. This is expected to result in fairer access to insurance.
• Insurance providers: May need to adjust their practices to comply with the new regulations, potentially impacting their pricing strategies.
• Government: Will have responsibility for implementing and monitoring the law's effectiveness, as well as potentially responding to any disputes arising.

Powered by nyModel