Public sector equality duty in Scotland

Scottish public authorities must pay 'due regard' to the need to: eliminate unlawful discrimination, victimisation and harassment; advance equality of opportunity.

Rubber stamp of the word 'priority'PSED Monitoring 

Find out more about our monitoring and enforcement work on the equality duty .

Sample equalityactEquality Act

Find guidance, toolkits and rights on the new equality law that came into force in October 2010.

Technical Guidance

Read more about our Public Sector Equality Duty Technical Guidance (Scotland) and our FE/HE Technical Guidance

Regulations for the Specific Duties

The Regulations for the Scottish Specific Duties came into force on 27 May 2012.

Non-statutory Guidance

Download our public sector equality duty guides for public authorities in Scotland.

More Information

Background to the equality duty

Discover what the duty consists of, how it came about and why it's such an important part of the Equality Act.

Public Authorities - Who is covered?

Public Authorities in Scotland - Who is covered by the Specific Duties?

Resources on new protected characteristics

View links to documents on the new protected characteristics that were not fully covered by the previous duties.

Scottish Projects

Better Policy, Better Lives: Section 31 Assessment

Section 31 Assessment into Scottish Ministers’ Progress in Meeting the Public Sector Equality Duties (PSED)

Mitigating Action within Scottish public bodies

Research looking at the effectiveness of Equality Impact Assessments in reducing negative impact of policy changes on equality groups.  

Counting The Cost

Our report sets out the findings, which have significant implications, particularly given the current economic climate.