Now that the dust has settled on our first Equality Conference, we have had some time to reflect on the day, and have been delighted with the feedback received both at the time and subsequently.
By way of background, and as is well known in any event, the Equality Act 2017 (the “Act”) introduces into Manx legislature many new legal concepts, as well as consolidating many of the existing, piecemeal provisions surrounding anti-discrimination practices.
The Act uses the UK Equality Act 2010 as a template. There were many reasons for this, many underpinned by practical and pragmatic considerations, not least the fact that the UK Act was based on separate pieces of legislation which in some cases had been in operation for a significant number of years. In that thread, we considered that an opportunity existed to host an Equality Conference which would allow experts in the field of equality law to attend the island and offer invaluable insight to Manx businesses, and the speed with which this event sold out was certainly testament to that.
The Conference planning began in March 2017, when we met with various HR professionals, representatives from Cabinet Office and MIRS, to gain insight into what were the key concerns for business with the incoming legislation. This feedback was used to influence the content of the day and thereafter we approached various individuals who we had identified as having a particular skill set or leading authority on the matters to be discussed.
Image shows (L to R) Paras Gorasia, James Boyd, Leanne McKeown, Tara Cubbon, Jessica McManus, Steve Billinghurst, Chris Thomas MHK, Jane Mulcahy QC
