Equality and the law
EDI foundations, the Equality Act, duties and bias.
Three and a half hours on equality and the law: the Equality Act 2010, the Public Sector Equality Duty, the Welsh socio-economic duty, changes in force by November 2026 and what really reduces bias.
- Level
- Focus
- Learning time
- 3 hours 30 minutes
- Where
- Equalities and Diversity
- Price
- £69
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Read the full terms
Certificate of Completion, or Certificate of Completion and Assessment with a short assessment
Overview and Outcomes.
Who It's For
Managers in councils, the NHS, housing, police, fire and charities in Wales and England who make decisions about people and services.
Overview
This Focus brings together the foundations of equality practice and the law that underpins it. It begins by separating equality, equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging, drawing on Shore's inclusion model, Ely and Thomas and the Ford Dagenham strike. It then sets out the Equality Act 2010, from the nine protected characteristics to lawful positive action, and the Public Sector Equality Duty with the Brown principles and the Welsh socio-economic duty. It closes with the law in motion to 2026, including the preventative duty on sexual harassment, and with what the evidence shows about bias in people decisions, from the Implicit Association Test to structured process design.
Aims
This Focus aims to develop the confidence to recognise legal risk early, to give due regard as a way of deciding rather than a document, and to design people processes that reduce bias. It builds a clear grasp of what is in force, what is coming and what is pending, so that leaders act on duties rather than trends.
In summary, you will be able to:
- Recognise the legal duties that shape everyday people and service decisions in Wales and England.
- Plan equality impact assessments that start early and genuinely change decisions.
- Design recruitment and appraisal processes that limit bias through structure and accountability.
What you'll develop
Through this Focus course, you will build the ability to:
- Distinguish equality, equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging, and explain why each can be achieved without the others.
- Distinguish direct and indirect discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, reasonable adjustments, harassment, victimisation and vicarious liability, and recognise when each is at risk.
- Apply sections 158 and 159 to plan positive action that stays lawful and avoids positive discrimination.
- Plan an equality impact assessment that starts while options are open, uses evidence and engagement, and changes the decision where needed.
- Set out which equality changes are in force, which are coming with a date, and which are still pending.
- Apply process design, including structured interviews, agreed criteria, independent scoring and accountability, and check claims against their evidence.
Built from 2 parts.
3 hours 30 minutes of learning.
- 01The words, the law, the dutyEDI foundations, the Equality Act and the public sector dutyBitesize3 modules
- 02Law and bias, honestlyNew equality law and bias in people decisionsBitesize2 modules
Keep going.
Part of the Equalities and Diversity topic, also sold whole as Everyone belongs.
Go deeper, and pay only the difference
- You are hereFocus, 3 hours 30 minutes, £69
- Next stepExplore, Fair by law, fair in practice, 6 hours, £129. Already own the Focus? You pay £60.
- The whole topicImmerse, Everyone belongs, 11 hours 30 minutes, £249. Already own the Focus? You pay £180.
When you step up to a higher level, what you paid in the last 12 months for lower-level courses inside the bigger course comes off its price, in proportion to how much of each is inside it, whichever topic it's from. Courses at the same or a lower level don't give credit against each other. A Focus course or above always costs at least £15. Prices per person. Read the full terms
Also part of: Fair by design