New law prohibiting discrimination on grounds of religion or belief comes into force on 2 December 2003. Short leaflets about the new legislation are now available on the dti website: www.dti.gov.uk. Much more detailed, practical, guidance is available from ACAS: www.acas.org.uk. The ACAS guidance is a mixture of advice on the law and good practice.

The dti leaflets say the government is introducing the new rights because it recognises that unfair discrimination has a damaging impact on people's lives and because it believes that businesses will prosper if they harness the talents of all their employees. The government was also required to bring in the new legislation on religion or belief discrimination and sexual orientation discrimination, which comes into force on 1 December 2003, to comply with requirements of the EU Employment Framework Directive. The Directive will also require the introduction of age discrimination legislation by the end of 2006.