Pictured above: Sandra Wallace

With details on how employers should deal with new discrimination rules issued this week - less than a fortnight before the measures become law in the UK, employment experts at DLA Piper in Birmingham are concerned that the new Equality Act could create widespread confusion among employers.

The much anticipated Equality Act will come into force on Friday, October 1, rationalising long standing regulations and adding new responsibilities on employers - especially in the field of disability discrimination.

However, the detailed guidance on how the old laws will be phased out and the new rules brought in was only issued this week, giving employers just ten days to ensure their polices are  legally compliant.

Sandra Wallace, head of equality and diversity at DLA Piper, said: "The objective of the Equality Act was to remove the confusion that has developed around discrimination laws in the UK in recent years.

"Unfortunately, by only issuing guidance on how the new rules will be brought into force a fortnight before they become law, the new Equality Act is now at risk of increasing the burden on employers to ensure they are ready for the changes in a very short space of time.

"Acts of discrimination rarely fit into neat boxes - they are often based on allegations regarding actions that take place over long periods of time - which means the details on how and when laws are going to change is absolutely critical in this situation."   

According to the Commencement Order issued this week, acts of discrimination that were carried out in their entirety before October 1, 2010, will continue to be dealt with under the old laws, but those that continue after the beginning of next month will be dealt with using the new rules.

Employees who have separate complaints that are covered under both the existing laws,  and as part of the Equality Act, will have to bring claims under both the old and the new law, which will inevitably lead to more complexity.

Despite the new Equality Act changing the way employment tribunals determine whether an employee is disabled, new guidance has not yet been finalised, meaning that employers must continue to rely on the current out-of-date guidance

Sandra Wallace said: "The Equality Act is an important piece of legislation that should herald a new era in terms of tackling discrimination in the UK and ensuring employers and employees know exactly what is expected of them.

"Unfortunately, by issuing the implementing legislation so late in the day, and not incorporating all elements of the Act, businesses have been left with a halfway house that will potentially confuse them even more than they already were, and risk protracted  legal wrangles  in employment tribunals that are already overstretched with a general increase in claims."