The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain, established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of equality and non-discrimination laws in England, Scotland and Wales (in Scotland, together with the Scottish Human Rights Commission). It took over the responsibilities of the Commission for Racial Equality, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Disability Rights Commission. The EHRC also has responsibility for other aspects of equality law: age, sexual orientation and religion or belief. A national human rights institution, its function is to promote and protect human rights throughout Great Britain. It has received criticism from the United Nations and Amnesty International following separate investigations by the both of them for its extensive work to strip away and revoke the rights of transgender people in the UK, and was likewise brought under investigation by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions - although this last organisation later found no need for action against the EHRC.
The EHRC has offices in Manchester, London, Glasgow and Cardiff. It is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) sponsored by the Office for Equality and Opportunity (OEO), part of the Cabinet Office. It is separate from, and independent of, Government but accountable for its use of public funds. Its Commissioners are appointed by the Minister for Women and Equalities. The EHRC's functions do not extend to Northern Ireland, where there is a separate Equality Commission (ECNI) and a Human Rights Commission (NIHRC), both established under the Northern Ireland Act 1998 in pursuance to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. The EHRC is also prevented from taking action on devolved human rights matters for which the Scottish Parliament has granted the Scottish Human Rights Commission responsibility.
The current Chair of the EHRC is Dr. Mary-Ann Stephenson, who took on the role in December 2025.
Powers
The EHRC derives its powers from the Equality Act 2006, which resulted from the government white paper, Fairness for All: A New Commission for Equality and Human Rights. Section 3 states the EHRC has a general duty to work towards the development of a society where equality and rights are rooted. This is taken to mean, people's ability to achieve their potential is not limited by prejudice or discrimination, there is respect for and protection of each individual's human rights (including respect for the dignity and worth of each individual), each person has an equal opportunity to participate in society, and there is mutual respect between communities based on understanding and valuing of diversity and on shared respect for equality and human rights.
Section 30 strengthens the EHRC's ability to apply for judicial review and to intervene in court proceedings, through giving explicit statutory provision for such action. Sections 31–2 gives the EHRC a new power to assess public authorities' compliance with their positive equality duties. It can issue "compliance notices" if it finds a public authority is failing in its duties. Public authorities, importantly, are bound under the Human Rights Act 1998 to act in a way compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (s.6 HRA). The EHRC's role is therefore one of catching matters before they lead to the courts. Public sector workers therefore have additional avenues to enforce equality standards. Public sector employers are consistently shown to have excellent workplace practices.See, for instance, Michael Rubenstein Equality, the private sector and the Discrimination Law Review: A preliminary report at Section 30(3) of the Equality Act 2006 allows the EHRC to bring judicial review proceedings under the HRA against public authorities. This is a stronger tool than usual, because the EHRC is not subject to the normal requirement of being a "victim" of a Human Rights violation.See s.7(1)(b) HRA 1998; usually you can only bring a Human Rights claim if you are actually the person whose rights are violated. You cannot do it on someone else's behalf.
Under section 24, the EHRC can enter into binding agreements with employers. So for instance, it can agree that an employer will commit to equality best practice audits or avoid discriminatory practices that it may identify, in return for not investigating (a bad thing for employers' publicity). It can enforce these agreements through injunctions. Previously only the Disability Rights Commission had such powers, the CRE and the EOC were more limited. For instance, the EOC used only to have the power to get injunctions against bodies with a bad track record of discrimination.s. 73 of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975
Section 20 gives the EHRC the power to carry out investigations when it has the "suspicion" of unlawful discrimination taking place. Before. this had been limited to a requirement of "reasonable suspicion" which in effect led the predecessors to be much more cautious. In legal terms this is the difference between an irrationality test and a reasonable man test. In other words, a court could not declare an investigation unlawful unless it considered that the EHRC was carrying out an investigation where no reasonable person could have come to the same conclusion. Before a court could declare an investigation unlawful if it thought that the proverbial "man on the Clapham Omnibus" would not regard an employer as being a suspect "discriminator".
There are some complications in relation to the Human Rights Act 1998 with the EHRC's powers. If it is going to be a "named investigation" (i.e. the employer will probably get shamed by the publication of its name during an investigation), the EHRC cannot start an investigation into a public authority for breaches under the HRA. Also, it cannot support individual cases in tribunals and courts where the issue would concern matters that fall only under the HRA and not under some pre-existing British equality legislation (like the Sex Discrimination Act 1975). Practically this will be problematic, not least because if a claim did exist under the HRA, British legislation which did not cover such problems would usually be updated to comply with European Convention rights (these are the ones that the HRA implements). Also, the line between what is in the European Convention, what is actually covered by domestic legislation, is difficult to draw. At any rate, section 28 gives the Minister the power to give authorisation for a discrimination case to be fought if a domestic legislation issue has dropped away, but a purely human rights issue remains.
As a successor body, the EHRC's new powers were not dramatic. Some people called for the changes to go further, for instance, to allow the EHRC to bring proceedings against employers in its own name on any issue (not just human rights ones). The American, Australian, Belgian, Canadian and New Zealand counterparts can.
Campaigns The Commission's campaigns include:
Care and Support (2010) A report produced by the Commission highlighted the need to shift from a "safety net" approach to care to a "springboard". The report suggested ways that individuals could be given greater autonomy over their lives and encouraged to engage in society and make social and economic contributions.
Working Better Initiative (2016) The Working Better Initiative was launched with a remit of coming up with innovative ways to meet the needs of modern workforce, with a particular focus on flexibility and family life.
Leadership The Board of Commissioners comprises commissioners with backgrounds in equality and human rights, and the Commission's chief executive. The current chair of the Commission is Dr. Mary-Ann Stephenson, who was appointed in late 2025. The Chair serves as a spokesperson, and leader to the Commission together with the Chief Executive. +ChairsNameTenureNotes Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson2025-present Kishwer Falkner2020–2025David Isaac2016–2020Onora O'Neill2012–2016Trevor Phillips2007–2012 Meanwhile, Commissioners act with accordance to the Nolan Principles, and whatever direction given to them on their appointment by the Minister for Women and Equalities. The Deputy Chair has the additional duty to cover for the Chair in their absence. +CommissionersNameNotesJohn KirkpatrickChief ExecutiveAlasdair HendersonInterim Chair of the Scotland Committee Kunle OlulodeAkua ReindorfKeith Richards
International status Although it operates at sub-national level, the EHRC was in 2009 recognised as a member of the worldwide network of national human rights institutions, securing "A status" accreditation from the former International Co-ordinating Committee of NHRIs (ICC). This gives the Commission enhanced access to the Human Rights Council, treaty bodies and other United Nations human rights bodies. The EHRC was the second NHRI in the UK, following the creation of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) in 1999, and preceding the Scottish Human Rights Commission. The three bodies share representation and voting rights in the ICC's successor, the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions and its regional network, the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions.
The EHRC has since 2008 engaged in parallel reporting ("shadow reporting") at examinations of the UK under the UN and Council of Europe human rights treaties, and in the Universal Periodic Review. However, its the NIHRC and SHRC have been noted in recent years as being more engaged than the institutions with the process.
In 2008 the EHRC was designated as a part of the UK's independent mechanism responsible for promoting, monitoring and protecting the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It shares this role with the other UK NHRIs and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.
History
Trevor Phillips became head of the Commission for Racial Equality in 2003, and on its abolition in 2006 was appointed full-time chairman of its successor, the EHRC.Dodd, Vikram (4 September 2006). "Ministers pick Phillips to lead new human rights and equalities body", The Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2020. Phillips' tenure as EHRC chairman (which at his request became a part-time position in 2009) was at times controversial. Under Phillips' leadership it was reported that six of the body's commissioners departed after expressing concerns about his leadership and probity and others were reported to be considering their position. Some of the first set of Commissioners resigned towards the end of their first term, while others did not seek a second term. These Commissioners included Morag Alexander, Kay Allen, Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, Jeannie Drake CBE, Joel Edwards, Mike Smith, Professor Kay Hampton, Francesca Klug, Sir Bert Massie CBE, Ziauddin Sardar, Ben Summerskill and Dr Neil Wooding. Klug, who resigned in summer 2009, described a culture of intimidation at the Commission, while Hamptom said Phillips "didn't get human rights", Summerskill described a problem of nepotism, and Massie described it as "sluggish".
Nicola Brewer, the first chief executive (and ex officio Commissioner), resigned in March 2009 and returned to the diplomatic service. Her successor's salary was advertised at £120,000 (£65,000 less than she had been paid), a similar salary to its directors.