date: Tuesday 12 February 2002 embargo: 00.01 Wednesday 13 February 2002

Attention: Industrial, political and social affairs correspondents and lesbian and gay publications

New laws on equality must not stop at the workplace door says TUC

In a new report 'Winning lesbian and gay equality’ published today [Wednesday], the TUC calls on the Government to extend its plans for greater equality for lesbians and gay men to beyond the workplace door.

The Government has to incorporate the European Framework Directive for equal treatment in employment and occupation into UK law by 2003 and is currently consulting on the form that legislation will take. While this will outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in terms of employment, it won’t cover other areas of discrimination suffered by lesbians and gay men - such as in the laws covering pensions, inheritance and next of kin rights.

The TUC’s report shows that many employers are already challenging discrimination in their workplaces in advance of new legislation, but highlights the areas where new legislation is still essential to achieve full equality.

TUC General Secretary John Monks said:

'Many lesbians, gay men and bisexuals continue to face daily prejudice and discrimination, both at work and in society more broadly. This new law gives the government the opportunity to provide the lesbian and gay community with comprehensive legal protection against discrimination on grounds of their sexuality. To limit the protection to employment, while allowing discrimination to continue to be legal in the provision of goods and services, would only send a confused signal.

'As our report shows, unions and good employers have already begun to challenge the worst forms of discrimination at work. Good employers now understand that equal treatment and the recognition of the diversity of our community are not threats to business. In fact organisations that fail to recruit, retain and promote the most talented people, regardless of the communities from which they come, are increasingly putting themselves at a serious disadvantage. But the policies pursued by the companies highlighted in this report are still the minority, and can only deal with some of the discrimination suffered. We want the government to act so that best practice becomes common practice and discrimination is outlawed everywhere.'

Notes to Editors:

· By December 2003, the government has to introduce into British law sections of the European Framework Directive for equal treatment in employment and occupation. The Directive covers discrimination on grounds including sexual orientation, religion and belief and age. The TUC, along with a coalition of lesbian and gay community organisations, believes that this is the appropriate opportunity to provide comprehensive legal protection against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation for the first time, and to provide the same range of protection as is already offered to people under the Sex Discrimination Act and the Race Relations Act.

· The TUC has collected a petition of Trade Union members in support of its call for greater equality. The petition has so far gained 15,000 signatures and will be presented to the Cabinet Office Minister, Barbara Roche MP today [Wednesday].

· Some of the areas of discrimination highlighted in the TUC report include:

· Failure to provide survivor benefits to same sex partners in pension provision. This denies people who may have lived together for a whole lifetime a right enjoyed automatically by married partners. This discrimination also takes no account of the fact that lesbian and gay members will have paid the same in contributions into the scheme as anyone else, but will not receive the same benefit. It may well also affect unmarried heterosexual partners;

· Failure to act against harassment, bullying and abuse of people who are lesbian, gay or bisexual, or are thought to be. Such behaviour can have awful consequences for the victim, who may be forced out of the job, or suffer a breakdown, as well as being destructive for the whole workplace itself. Often, too, harassment on one ground can be part of a broader pattern of such unacceptable behaviour;

· Denying to same-sex partners access to concessions enjoyed by married partners, such as reduced-cost travel;

· Denying to same sex partners the right to time off for family crises, bereavements, etc, that heterosexual partners are entitled to;

· Denying same sex partners who share responsibility for the raising of children access to parental leave provisions enjoyed by heterosexual partners.

The full TUC report ‘Winning lesbian and gay equality’ is available at: http://www.tuc.org.uk/equality

All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

Contacts:

Media enquiries: Philip Taylor 020 7467 1310 or 07699 744115 (pager) or email ptaylor@tuc.org.uk

Other enquiries: Peter Purton 020 7467 1271 or email ppurton@tuc.org.uk

Press release (800 words) issued 13 Feb 2002