Workplace Discrimination

The Equality Act 2010 recognises several forms of prohibited conduct:

• Direct discrimination: Treating someone less favourably because of a protected characteristic — for example, not promoting a woman because she has young children, or declining to hire someone because of their age.
• Indirect discrimination: Applying a provision, criterion, or practice (PCP) that applies equally to everyone but puts people with a protected characteristic at a particular disadvantage, and which cannot be objectively justified — for example, a requirement to work full-time that disadvantages women more than men (given childcare responsibilities), unless the employer can justify it as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
• Harassment: Unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that has the purpose or effect of violating a person's dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment.
• Victimisation: Treating someone unfairly because they have made, or supported, a complaint of discrimination under the Equality Act.

The Equality Act 2010 protects against discrimination on the following grounds:

• Age: Protection against discrimination based on age — for both younger and older workers.
• Disability: Wide definition — a physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Includes a duty to make reasonable adjustments.
• Gender reassignment: Protects transgender people.
• Marriage and civil partnership: Protects married people and civil partners.
• Pregnancy and maternity: Protects pregnant employees and those on maternity leave.
• Race: Includes colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origins.
• Religion or belief: Includes any religion, religious or philosophical belief, or lack of belief.
• Sex: Protects men and women equally.
• Sexual orientation: Protects gay, lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual people.

If you believe you have been discriminated against at work, take the following steps:

1. Document everything: Record every incident of discriminatory treatment with dates, what happened, witnesses, and any documentary evidence (emails, messages).
2. Raise a formal grievance: Use your employer's grievance procedure to raise the discrimination complaint in writing. This is usually a prerequisite before bringing a Tribunal claim, and failure to raise a grievance can reduce compensation by up to 25%.
3. Send a statutory questionnaire: You can send your employer a written request for information to help you understand the reasons for their treatment of you.
4. Notify Acas for Early Conciliation: Before bringing an Employment Tribunal claim, you must go through Acas Early Conciliation.
5. Bring a Tribunal claim: The time limit is strictly three months less one day from the act of discrimination (or the last act in a continuing series).

Compensation for discrimination is uncapped and includes injury to feelings awards, which can range from hundreds to tens of thousands of pounds depending on the severity.

The Equality Act 2010 imposes a positive duty on employers in relation to disability: they must make reasonable adjustments to remove or substantially reduce any substantial disadvantage that a provision, criterion, or practice (PCP), a physical feature of the workplace, or the absence of an auxiliary aid places on a disabled person compared to a non-disabled person.

This duty is anticipatory — employers must not wait to be asked before considering what adjustments may be needed. In practice, the duty is most commonly triggered when an employee discloses a disability or when a pattern of absences or performance issues reveals a likely underlying health condition.

The Equality Act 2010 does not define what adjustments are "reasonable" — this is assessed objectively on all the facts, including:

• The cost of the adjustment relative to the employer's size and resources
• The effectiveness of the adjustment in reducing the disadvantage
• The disruption the adjustment would cause to the wider workforce or business
• Whether any financial or practical assistance (for example, through the government's Access to Work scheme) is available

Beyond the duty to make adjustments, the Equality Act also prohibits discrimination arising from disability (section 15): treating a disabled person unfavourably because of something arising in consequence of their disability — for example, disciplining someone for absences caused by a disability — is unlawful unless the employer can show the treatment is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. This broader protection is often overlooked but is highly significant in practice, particularly where a disabled employee is subject to capability or attendance management.

The Employment Rights Bill 2024 proposed strengthened protections for disabled workers in the context of redundancy, restructuring, and dismissal — building on the Equality Act framework but adding procedural safeguards. While the specific provisions were subject to parliamentary amendment, the underlying principle that disabled workers should receive greater protection in dismissal processes was well-established. Employers facing tribunal claims by disabled employees should expect scrutiny of whether reasonable adjustments were considered at every stage — including during redundancy selection, capability proceedings, and disciplinary processes. A failure to consider adjustments at any of these stages may make the outcome unfair or discriminatory regardless of whether the underlying process was otherwise sound.

When bringing a workplace discrimination claim, timing is critical. The Employment Tribunal's strict three-month minus one day time limit runs from each individual act of discrimination. However, where discrimination has occurred as a series of connected acts — a continuing course of conduct — the time limit may run from the last act in the series. If you leave employment due to discrimination, the clock runs from the date your employment ends. Registering for Acas Early Conciliation pauses the time limit. This means you should contact Acas promptly, even if you hope to resolve the matter through internal channels. Every day of delay after the three-month period becomes a risk to your claim; only in exceptional circumstances will a Tribunal extend time on the ground that it is just and equitable to do so, and this discretion is not exercised automatically. Contact Acas early, keep detailed records of every incident, and take advice from Citizens Advice or an employment solicitor before the time limit expires to protect your claim.