EMPLOYMENT LAW

What is Discrimination at Work?

Discrimination in the workplace is where an employer treats one particular employee unfairly, as against others, and they do so because of sex; gender; marriage/civil partnership; pregnancy or maternity leave; sexual orientation; race; colour; gender reassignment; disability; age; religion or political opinion; ethnic background and nationality. If you are an employee and you feel you are being discriminated against in the workplace, or an employer with issues of discrimination at work, do get in touch with our expert team of employment law solicitors.

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Discrimination FAQs

Discrimination at work happens when you are treated unfairly at work because of one of the “protected characteristics” – age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

There are several types of discrimination: direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, victimisation. Disability discrimination can also occur where an employer fails to make reasonable adjustments to ameliorate the impact of an employee’s disability on their working environment, as well as for a reason arising because of disability.

Harassment occurs where someone is subjected to unwanted conduct that violates their dignity or creates a hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them. Sexual harassment is where someone is subjected to unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that has the same impact. It is also harassment where someone has been subjected to any form of harassment, which they either rejected or submitted to, and is treated less favourably than they would have been if they had not rejected/submitted to the unwanted conduct.

All employees, workers and importantly, job applicants are entitled not to be discriminated against because of a protected characteristic.

Seek advice as soon as possible, because it’s important not to delay. Usually, the first step is to raise a complaint or grievance about the situation, but you can generally only claim for treatment that took place within the 3 months beforehand.

Seek advice as soon as possible, so we can help you deal with the allegations. Generally, the best thing to do is co-operate with the process. There may be particular things to consider, such as the best solution for you in the circumstances, and getting us involved early can make the most of the options available to you.

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