Explanatory Notes

Equality Act 2010

2010 CHAPTER 15

8 April 2010

Commentary on Sections

Part 16: General and Miscellaneous

Schedule 9: Work: exceptions

Part 1: Occupational requirements
Employment services: paragraph 5
Effect

800.This paragraph makes it lawful for an employment service-provider to restrict a service to people with a particular protected characteristic if the treatment relates either to work for which having that characteristic is an occupational requirement, or to training for such work.

801.The service-provider can rely on the exception by showing that he or she reasonably relied on a statement from a person who could offer the work in question that having the particular characteristic was an occupational requirement. It is, however, a criminal offence for such a person to make a statement of that kind which they know to be false or misleading.