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The States has decided to delay a proposed commencement date for new anti-discrimination legislation; this is to allow businesses more time to prepare for any changes.
The Prevention of Discrimination (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2022 is set to be considered by the States at the end of September. It was previously agreed the legislation will come into effect six months after States approval, but this has been moved to 1 October 2023, a further six months later.
The Committee for Employment & Social Security has approved the draft ordinance for submission to the Legislation Review Panel.
A spokesperson for the States explained: “Once the ordinance has been reviewed by the panel, subject to any amendments the panel recommends, it is anticipated that the final ordinance will be submitted to the States in mid-August in time for consideration at the States’ meeting at the end of September this year.”
Depsite the States’ previously agreeing that the ordinance would come into force six months after approval, the spokesperson said this timeframe has been increased following “feedback from the business community”.
Pictured: Committee for Employment & Social Care President, Deputy Peter Roffey said the legislation was "long awaited".
The Committee has drafted the ordinance with a commencement date of 1 October 2023 “to ensure businesses have more time to prepare for the new legislation”.
Committee President, Deputy Peter Roffey, commented: “As a committee, we’re very pleased that the draft Ordinance is ready for the next stage of the approval process.
“This brings us another step closer to introducing long awaited legislation that will make discrimination on the grounds of race, disability, carer status, sexual orientation and religious belief unlawful.
“We thought it was important to publish the draft ordinance prior to formal submission to the States to give interested parties plenty of time to review it before the States considers the ordinance.”
The draft ordinance is available HERE.
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