The domestic law concerning discrimination is currently contained in five separate Acts and four sets of principal regulations, reflecting no less than six main EU Directives. The Equality Act 2010 will harmonise the law relating to equality and discrimination, and will replace all existing anti- discrimination law once in force. The Act contains a number of provisions to support progress on equality, by: * introducing a public sector duty regarding socio-economic inequalities * empowering ministers to add caste to the definition of race * prohibiting discrimination arising from disability and outlawing enquiries about disability and health * extending indirect discrimination to disability * introducing combined discrimination based on dual characteristics * dealing with reasonable adjustments to common parts of premises * creating new rights to claim equal pay as a form of direct sex or dual discrimination where there is no identifiable male comparator * rendering it unlawful to prohibit colleagues from talking about terms of employment with a view to checking whether there is prohibited discrimination * allowing political parties to take proportionate action in selection arrangements to address under-representation in elected bodies and requiring them to publish anonymised information on the diversity of candidate selections * extending the public sector equality duty to gender reassignment, age, religion or belief, and sexual orientation * extending the permitted use of positive action to all protected characteristics, and to recruitment and promotion * defining relevant types of work to which an equality clause or rule apply * recognising the reduction of pay inequality as a legitimate part of the material factor defence * enabling claims of direct sex discrimination or dual discrimination in relation to contractual pay in the absence of a comparator doing equal work * ensuring that there is greater transparency and dialogue within workplaces about pay * requiring private and voluntary sector employers of 250+ employees to publish information about gender-based pay differences * ensuring licensing authorities cannot refuse licences to wheelchair accessible vehicles on the grounds of controlling taxi numbers * excepting charities benefiting only people of the same age group or with the same disability * allowing exceptions from age discrimination in the provision of services and the exercise of public functions * reforming the law on family property and civil partnerships * ensuring the future harmonisation of the areas of the Act covered by EU law and those that are domestic in origin * making new provisions affecting information society services Equality and Discrimination - The New Law provides a thorough and practical analysis of the new Act, and places it in the context of the old law and suggests how the new law is likely to work in practice. It will be essential reading for all lawyers and professional advisers dealing with employment and discrimination matters, as well as central and local government departments; schools, colleges and universities and their users; private clubs and other associations; and transport providers. The full text of the Act is reproduced in full.