§ 85. Mrs. ClwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he has taken to publicise the right of women working for small employers to claim sex discrimination rights under the Sex Discrimination Act 1986.
§ Mr. NichollsMy Department issued a press notice about all the provisions of the Sex Discrimination Act 1986 on 7 November 1986 when the Act received Royal Assent. It has subsequently produced a special leaflet for small employers; this was published on 7 February 1987 when the small firms provisions came into force. This leaflet has been distributed widely to small firms organisations. The CBI, the TUC, the Advisory Committee on Women's Employment and the Women's National Commission. Copies are freely available to both employers and employees from jobcentres, unemployment benefit offices and citizens advice bureaux. Copies of the press notice and the leaflet have been placed in the Library.
Information about the extension of sex discrimination legislation to small employers has also been included in the Home Office's general guide to the Sex Discrimination Act. This, too, is freely available from jobcentres, unemployment benefit offices, and citizens advice bureaux, as well as from the Equal Opportunities Commission which has also issued its own guidance on the 1986 Act.