What does discrimination mean and how do I deal with it?

Discrimination is derived from the Equality Act 2010, that’s the place to look to when looking at discrimination within the workplace because the Equality Act contains really important rights. Generally speaking, for those rights to apply to you as an employee what you have to demonstrate is that you have a protected characteristic and as a consequence of that protected characteristic you then suffered discrimination.

Protected Characteristics

In relation to protected characteristics these are: age, gender reassignment, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. It’s important to remember that discrimination can be as a result of more than one protected characteristic. Then you need to think about what kind of claim you might have because it’s no good saying well I’ve been discriminated against because of my age but how have you been discriminated against as a result of your age? You will need evidence of this in order to pursue a claim.

Types of claims you can bring

Perhaps the most obvious claim is direct discrimination. Are you saying you’re being discriminated against because of that protected characteristic specifically (for example due to being a woman) or are you saying it’s a form of in effect indirect discrimination, is it as a consequence of a rule that the employer has (for example a minimum height requirement for a job where height is not relevant to carry out the role)

Beyond that you might want to complain about harassment within the workplace. Has something happened that violates your dignity? This would give rise to a harassment claim. You might feel as though you’re being victimised, by that when I refer to victimisation I’m not talking about unfair treatment. I’m being quite specific here. The law states that victimisation arises in circumstances where you may well have complained about your treatment and then your employer treats you unfairly as a consequence (an example of this could be your employer giving you a bad reference after you have complained of discrimination in the workplace).

Then beyond that the Equality Act specifically addresses the issue of disability discrimination. So for example there’s a couple of claims that you might have. There as a disabled person one of them is failure to make reasonable adjustments. For example if you had a disability in the workplace that was having an adverse impact on your ability to do your job and you were struggling as a consequence, it may well be that the employer needs to make adjustments to your role so that you can then do the job that you’re employed to do. There’s another kind of claim you can bring a disabled employee and that’s the arising from claim. That’s a phrase that is used in the Equality Act and that’s where you feel as though you’re being treated unfairly as a consequence of your disability but not necessarily the disability itself. For example you might need medical appointments because you’ve got a medical condition that requires treatment at hospital and as a result of that your employer doesn’t like the fact that you’re not available for work when they want you to be available.

What should I do if I feel I’m being discriminated against?

The first step would be to consider what stage are you at in terms of what are you experiencing. Do you need to raise a grievance, if you haven’t already I’d advise you to do that. It’s always sensible to try and resolve the issue within the workplace by raising the grievance.

It might be that the issues are so serious that you want to look at bringing and claiming at the employment tribunal. We would then want to talk to you about what that would involve and what the stages would be in bringing a claim.

If we were considering an employment tribunal, then we would discuss ACAS Conciliation.  This is something you need to do before you can bring a claim to the tribunal. There will then be a further opportunity to try and resolve the issues that you have.

However, we understand that this may seem daunting and confusing. Don’t worry, if you were to bring a discrimination matter to the employment tribunal our employment team would be there every step of the way assisting and guiding you to the best possible outcome!

Here is a video recorded by Head of Employment Law, Richard Lozano:

Our Employment Team often see employees who may have suffered discrimination. If you are ever unsure, we would always advise you to take legal advice prior to making any accusations or comment as this may negatively effect your case in the future. Please contact our employment team at the earliest opportunity either by calling them on 01302 341 414 or by filling out our online enquiry form!

Please note that important time limits apply to Employment Tribunal claims, you have just three months less one day in order to bring claims, so don’t delay seeking help as you could miss out on your chance to bring claims.

We also have a range of other articles you may find beneficial, here are four which we have hand-selected for you to read:

• Dealing with conflict in the workplace 
• 4 Tips: Reducing Employees stress in the workplace 
• Discrimination towards LGBTQ+ people in the workplace 
• How to deal with stress in the workplace? 

Reliance on Information

The information contained on this website is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any matter. You should not rely on the information published on this website. The information on this website does not take account of individual circumstances and may not reflect recent changes in the law. Do not act or refrain from acting upon this information without seeking professional legal advice: you are strongly advised to obtain specific, personal legal advice about your case or matter and not to rely on the information or comments on this website.