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News from the Equality and Human Rights Commission
Tuesday 2 December 2025 |
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Welcome to the latest updates from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. This week is particularly significant as we welcome Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson as our new Chair.
In the past month we secured a new agreement with the Welsh Government to improve its compliance with equality law, and we achieved 100% compliance from eligible employers in reporting their pay gap data.
Our teams have been contributing to some of the most important national conversations too. We’ve offered guidance on assisted dying, tackled sexual harassment in the uniformed services and assessed progress on racial discrimination.
Read more below about the equality and human rights work we've undertaken this month as part of our three-year strategic plan.
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Welcome to our new Chair | On Monday 1 December, Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson officially started as the new Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Dr Stephenson brings more than 30 years of experience in the equality and human rights sector, including senior leadership roles as board member and CEO. Her expertise and collaborative approach will help guide the Commission through the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Her appointment was made by the Minister for Women and Equalities, Bridget Phillipson. | | | Find out more about Dr Stephenson and our Commissioners |
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Welsh Government signs agreement to improve its compliance with equality law | The Welsh Government has signed a legally binding agreement with us after failing to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty.
The new agreement sets out what the Welsh Government will do over the next two years to ensure there are no further breaches and that equality considerations are firmly embedded in their decision-making. | | | Read about our new agreement with the Welsh Government |
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Update on judicial review brought by the Good Law Project | This case challenges guidance we issued following the Supreme Court's judgment on the definition of 'sex' in the Equality Act. The High Court has now heard the case and the judge is carefully considering all points raised before making a decision, which is normal in complex cases.
We remain confident in our legal position and look forward to the clarity the High Court's decision will bring.
| | | Read the full statement about the judicial review |
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Meetings and engagements | We recently joined a roundtable hosted by the Ministry of Justice to help shape Britain’s long-term human rights vision.
Alongside this, our teams continued working with professionals in the uniformed services to tackle race and sex-based discrimination, harassment, and victimisation. They further shared our advice at an event by the personal safety charity, Suzy Lamplugh Trust.
We went on to share our work at the Equinet Conference in Sweden, where our legal team highlighted how the Legal Support Scheme has improved access to justice for victims of race discrimination.
Finally, we worked with other human rights institutions at the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions General Assembly, helping to set shared priorities and strengthen collaboration on emerging challenges. | |
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Advising Parliament and governments |
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Commissioner gives evidence on Terminally Ill Adults Bill | | Our commissioner, Alasdair Henderson KC, gave evidence about the potential human rights and regulatory implications of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at a recent House of Lords Select Committee session. | | | Read our parliamentary briefing |
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Fire and rescue reform in Wales: our response | | Responding to the Welsh Government’s proposals for reforming fire and rescue authorities, we have recommended more transparency and accountability to tackle equality problems in fire and rescue services. | | | Read a summary of our consultation response |
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Legal and regulatory action |
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Ensuring PSED compliance to avoid enforcement action | | Following our recent enforcement action against the Welsh Government, we have written to UK government departments to remind them of their responsibilities under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). We will review compliance over the coming year, including publishing equality information and setting measurable objectives. | | | Read about our reminders to government departments |
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Full compliance achieved in 2024-25 gender pay gap reporting | | We can confirm that 100% of eligible employers have now reported their gender pay gap data for 2024-25. In September, we noted that 10 organisations had missed the 4 April deadline. All of these have now either submitted their data or been confirmed as not required to report. | | | Read our pay gap reporting update |
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Legal agreement extended to protect McDonald’s staff from sexual harassment | | We have extended our legal agreement with McDonald’s Restaurants Limited to protect staff from sexual harassment. The agreement now includes a strengthened action plan. This responds to serious allegations made since we signed the original agreement February 2023. | | | Read more about the extended agreement |
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Special review of the EHRC’s accreditation not warranted | | We are an accredited ‘A’ status National Human Rights Institution. The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions’ Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) has now reconfirmed that a special review of our accreditation is not required at this time. | | | Read about the SCA’s decision |
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