LegislationEquality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 aims to prevent discrimination in the workplace. It is illegal to discriminate against workers based on nine protected characteristics:

• age
• disability
• gender reassignment
• marriage and civil partnership
• pregnancy and maternity
• race: can refer to colour, nationality, ethinic or national origins
• religion or belief: can refer to religious or philosophical beliefs, including a lack of belief
• sex: refers specifically to someone’s biological sex as recorded on their birth certificate
• sexual orientation

Types of discrimination in the workplace

Direct discrimination is when an employee is treated unfairly at work because of a protected characteristic, such as their race, gender or disability.

Discrimination by association is when an employee is treated unfairly because they are connected to someone with a protected characteristic - eg a disabled family member.

Discrimination by perception is when an employee is treated unfairly because others mistakenly believe they have a protected characteristic.

Indirect discrimination is when a company policy or practice applies to everyone but disadvantages people with a particular protected characteristic.

Victimisation is when an employee is treated badly because they have made a complaint about discrimination or supported a colleague’s complaint.

Harassment involves unwanted behaviour towards an employee - related to a protected characteristic - that violates someone’s dignity or creates a hostile or offensive work environment.

Impact of the Equality Act

Policies and procedures – organisations need to have policies and procedures in place to ensure that there are equal job opportunities for all. They must also prevent discrimination across all aspects of the organisation.

Employee training – staff must be trained on the requirements of equal opportunity legislations.

Recruitment procedures – organisations may have to revise their recruitment policies to ensure there is no discriminatory wording in job adverts and no discrimination during the recruitment process.

Accessibility – the business needs to ensure it is accessible to all. This may require investment in equipment such as ramps or the installation of lifts.

Prosecution – the organisation may be prosecuted if they fail to comply with regulations resulting in a fine.

Investigation – an organisation must investigate any accusations of discrimination or harassment against employees or customers.