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The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s updated services Code of Practice comes into force today (5 August 2026), having received ministerial approval and been laid before Parliament.  

The Code provides practical guidance on how the Equality Act 2010 applies to services, public functions and associations. It explains the steps that they should take to ensure people are not discriminated against, harassed or victimised in relation to the protected characteristics set out in the Act.   

The updated Code coming into force today does not make new law or create any new legal obligations. It provides legally accurate, impartial and up-to-date guidance on the existing law: to help everyone understand it, organisations comply with it, legal advisers interpret and advise on it, and courts and tribunals apply it.  

To support this, the EHRC has published the statutory guidance on its website, available from today in both English and Welsh.

Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said:

“At the EHRC we want a society where everyone’s rights are respected and realised, so that we can all live well together. Our statutory guidance will help services across the country comply with the Equality Act, protecting service users from discrimination and harassment while reducing the risk of the provider being subject to litigation. 

“When we consulted on the updates to our services Code of Practice in 2024 and 2025, we heard the views of over 50,000 respondents, including duty-bearers. Their feedback helped us ensure the Code is clear and useful. 

“Every service provider, public function and association is encouraged to carefully consider this guidance and the examples most relevant to them – seeking independent legal advice, if necessary, particularly where the Equality Act 2010 intersects with other legislation.  

“Last year’s Supreme Court’s judgment on the definition of sex in the Equality Act increased demand for guidance and the Code has advice on the lawful provision of separate or single-sex services. But service providers should remember that the Code has guidance across the protected characteristics and explains how the Equality Act applies in a variety of everyday situations.   

“As Britain’s equality regulator, our work doesn’t end upon publication of this guidance. We monitor compliance with the law and take enforcement action where proportionate and necessary, in line with our well-established regulatory model and decision-making framework.” 

Read Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations (English).

Read Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations (Welsh).

• Under the Equality Act 2010, it is against the law to discriminate against someone because of a protected characteristic. The nine protected characteristics are: age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; and sexual orientation.  
• The Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations is statutory guidance. This means it has been approved by the Secretary of State and formally laid before Parliament. The Code does not impose legal obligations. Nor is it an authoritative statement of the law: only the courts and tribunals can provide such authority. However, the Code can be used in evidence in legal proceedings brought under the Act. Courts and tribunals must consider any part of the Code that appears relevant to any questions arising in such proceedings.  
• The EHRC updated its services Code of Practice to reflect more than a decade of significant developments in legislation and case law. These developments include the legalisation of same-sex marriage and case law relating to the definition of disability, the threshold for a philosophical belief to be protected and the Supreme Court judgment in April 2025 on the definition of sex in the Equality Act 2010. The Code now also incorporates previously separate technical guidance on age discrimination.
• The statutory Code of Practice published today applies to services, public functions and associations. The EHRC will update its guidance for employers in due course to reflect developments in the law. Following the Supreme Court’s judgment on the definition of sex in April 2025, the EHRC’s priority was to revise the relevant sections of the services Code, as a wider update to that guidance was already in progress.