This page contains information about the development of the Discrimination Legislation.
What has happened so far
As part of the Disability and Inclusion Strategy, the States agreed that detailed policy proposals should be developed for the introduction of disability discrimination legislation.
The Committee for Employment & Social Security carried out extensive consultation on draft policy proposals for a multi-ground Discrimination Ordinance during the summer of 2019, following which it substantially modified its proposals.
How the Committee's policy proposals changed between the summer of 2019 and March 2020 is explained within the policy letter. Appendix 4, Section 2
On 2nd March 2020, the Committee published proposals for phase 1 of a new Discrimination Ordinance which would make it unlawful for employers and service providers to discriminate on the grounds of disability, carer status and race. The policy letter is available to download on this page.
The proposals were debated by the States in July 2020. During the States debate an amendment was passed to bring the grounds of religious belief and sexual orientation into phase 1. The amended proposals for the discrimination legislation were passed on 17th July 2020.
A further policy letter on sexual orientation and religious belief was considered by the States in November 2021. The amended proposals for discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation and religious belief were approved on 4th November 2021. The States reaffirmed its previous decision to include protection from discrimination on the ground of religious belief in phase 1 of the new Discrimination Ordinance. The Committee's suggestion to reframe that ground as 'religion or belief', in order to provide protection from discrimination on the basis of secular beliefs, was not approved.
A technical consultation took place on the first draft of the Prevention of Discrimination (Guernsey) Ordinance in January and February 2022. As a result of this technical consultation, a number of changes were made to the draft Ordinance.
The draft Ordinance was considered by the Legislation Review Panel in early August 2022 and was submitted to the States' Greffier on 19 August 2022 to be presented to the States.
In September 2022, The Prevention of Discrimination (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2022, as amended, was approved by the States and will come into force in October 2023.
Consultation with businesses
The Committee for Employment & Social Security carried out extensive consultation on draft policy proposals during the summer of 2019, following which the proposals were substantially modified.
As part of this consultation, meetings or events took place with a number of groups including small businesses, Chamber of Commerce, Institute of Directors, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and Private Landlords.
Following States approval of the policy proposals in July 2020, a Discrimination Legislation Stakeholder Group was formed including representatives from business, private schools, hospitality, the legal profession, landlords, as well as representatives of the grounds of protection that will be included in Phase 1 of the Ordinance. This group provides feedback to the Committee for Employment & Social Security on the plans for implementing the new Discrimination Ordinance.
During the States debate an amendment was laid to add the grounds of sexual orientation and religious belief (NB later changed to religion or belief) in to phase one of the Ordinance. As a result of that amendment a targeted consultation on the definitions and exceptions for these grounds commenced late in 2020 and the Committee took a policy letter to the States which was debated in November 2021.
Following the November 2021 debate, the drafting of the Prevention of Discrimination (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2022 was completed and a technical consultation on the wording of the draft Ordinance took place Dec 2021 to February 2022. This consultation was specifically targeted at those who either have employment or discrimination legislative expertise, or who have a special interest in the Ordinance, such as those who represent stakeholders who will have specific responsibilities under the legislation or represent a ground of protection. Technical feedback from parties outside the targeted consultation was also welcomed.
