The Equality Act 2010
Discrimination in the workplace concerns the unfair treatment of an employee based on their membership of certain protected characteristics. The protected characteristics are outlined in the Equality Act 2010 and are:
- Sex
- Race
- Religion
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Gender reassignment
- Disability
- Marriage and civil partnership
- Sexual orientation
- Age
Discriminating against any employee based on any of their protected characteristics is against the law and can result in a discrimination claim against your business. In UK employment law there are generally two types of discrimination: direct and indirect. Direct discrimination would be actions such as harassment, bullying and abuse, or unfair treatment (such as not promoting someone) solely based on their protected characteristics. Indirect discrimination largely deals with any policies, rules or procedures your business has in place that may place a particular group of people at a disadvantage because of protected characteristics. A good example of this would be specifying English qualifications as essential on a job description, which would automatically rule out qualified applicants who were educated in other countries.