A single Commission for Equality and Human Rights ("CEHR"), proposed in the Fairness for all - government White Paper of May 2004, started to operate in October 2007. The functions of the Equal Opportunities Commission (along with those of the Commission for Racial Equality and the Disability Discrimination Commission) have been absorbed into those of the new "Commission for Equality and Human Rights" as from October 2007 (see Acts of Parliament etc/Equality Act 2006 ). Accordingly the EOC, along with the Commission for Racial Equality and the Disability Rights Commission, is dissolved with effect from 1st October 2007 (by the Equality Act 2006 (Dissolution of Commissions and Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Order 2007, SI 2007/2602 - see Institutions of employment law/Commission for Equality and Human Rights ).
The Equal Opportunities Commission ("EOC") is established under Sex Discrimination Act 1975, s.53, and derives its powers and duties from that and the following sections.
One of its main functions is to provide legal aid and advice to individuals who have cause for complaint under the SDA 1975 or EqPA 1970. It also has other "monitoring" functions (see below) and has power to conduct a formal investigation and to issue a non-discrimination notice in appropriate cases.
The EOC is the Sex Discrimination Act equivalent of the Commission for Racial Equality which has similar functions under the Race Relations Act (see RACIAL DISCRIMINATION/Commission for Racial Equality ).
The Equal Opportunities Commission (with funding from the Legal Services Commission) have developed an excellent law area on their website at www.eoc-law.org.uk, which they suggest is most suitable for employees' lawyers, Citizens Advice Bureaux workers, union representatives and lay advisers. There is a section on EOC website re "Future Legal Developments" by Robin Allen QC who has described the site as "an excellent, thoughtful and user-friendly source of information on equal opportunities issues". This is in addition to the excellent EOC web site general law section and the Equal Pay Review Kit for employers also on the EOC web-site. The EOC also provides a separate EOC website for legal advisers in Scotland.