Discrimination at Work
The Equality Act 2010 protects you from being treated unfairly because of who you are. Here's what that means in practice.
The 9 Protected Characteristics
You are legally protected from discrimination under UK law if you are treated unfairly because of any of these nine characteristics:
Age
Protection against unfair treatment because of your age, whether you are young or old.
Disability
Protection if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect.
Gender Reassignment
Protection if you are proposing to undergo, are undergoing, or have undergone gender reassignment.
Marriage & Civil Partnership
Protection against discrimination because you are married or in a civil partnership.
Pregnancy & Maternity
Protection during pregnancy and the statutory maternity leave period.
Race
Protection from unfair treatment because of color, nationality, ethnic or national origin.
Religion or Belief
Protection for religious beliefs, philosophical beliefs, or lack of belief.
Sex
Protection from discrimination because you are male or female.
Sexual Orientation
Protection whether you are attracted to people of the same sex, opposite sex, or both.
Types of Discrimination
Direct discrimination
Treating someone worse than others because of a protected characteristic.
Indirect discrimination
An employer puts a rule, policy, or practice in place that applies to everyone, but disadvantages those with a protected characteristic.
Harassment
Unwanted behavior related to a protected characteristic that violates your dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, or offensive environment.
Victimisation
Treating someone badly because they made a complaint about discrimination under the Equality Act, or supported someone else who did.
What to do if you've been discriminated against
Document everything immediately
Note dates, times, what was said, who was present, and any witnesses. Save email trails or screenshot messages. Store these copies off work devices (e.g. personal email, printed copies).
Raise a formal grievance
Your internal grievance procedure must usually be exhausted before you escalate. This creates an official paper trail. See our Grievance Toolkit for details.
Submit a Subject Access Request (SAR)
Legally request all data your employer holds about you. Internal emails between HR and managers often reveal key discriminatory intent or conversations. See the SAR Toolkit.
Contact ACAS
You must notify ACAS and begin Early Conciliation before you can file an Employment Tribunal claim. You must start this process within 3 months minus 1 day of the discriminatory act.
File an ET1
If ACAS Early Conciliation does not resolve the issue, submit your formal ET1 claim to the Employment Tribunal. See our ET Toolkit.
The time limit for discrimination claims is 3 months minus 1 day from the act of discrimination. Do not wait.
Not sure if your experience crosses the legal threshold?
Answer a few questions using our structured decision tree to assess your situation and discover recommended steps.
Use the discrimination assessment tool →