Equality consultation launched

Government wants to develop a code of practice so people know their rights and responsibilities under equality laws.

Officials say the code under the Equality Act 2017 will inform people accessing goods and services, businesses and public sector organisations to avoid complaints and discrimination claims.

The examples include an employee refusing to serve a customer on grounds of sexual orientation, a club bouncer turning a customer away due to their age and the organiser of a cycle race assuming no one over a certain age would complete their event.

Under the Act it's illegal on the Isle of Man to discriminate on the grounds of age, disability, gender, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation - but there are some exceptions which the code explains.

Minister for Policy and Reform, Ray Harmer MHK, says: "The advice is intended to be best practice, and likely to be valuable to a range of people and organisations on the Isle of Man."

As a result, government is asking people to take part in a consultation on the matter - residents can get involved on the online government consultation hub or get a paper copy by contacting equality@gov.im or calling 687 580.

The deadline for responses is December 7.