DISCRIMINATION

4 Types of Discrimination
What Every Employer Needs to Know

The UK have nine protected characteristics, which are set out in the Equality Act 2010.  There is no minimum length of service required for workers to be able to bring a claim for unlawful discrimination. For employers, this means that a claim for discrimination can be made in respect of a job advert, throughout employment, up to job references for ex-employees, and beyond.

Interesting Employment Tribunal Cases
Witness Statements and Marital Status Discrimination

This case law update article provides a digestible account of recent Employment Tribunal outcomes; where you get the background details on the case, the rationale behind the judgements and takeaway learning points.  In the case, Tai Tarian v Christie: was it outside the range of reasonable responses to dismiss someone in reliance on the evidence of an anonymous witness?

The Legal Basis for Unlawful Discrimination

The Equality Act 2010 is the legislation that sets out which characteristics a person may possess and are protected against unlawful discrimination.  There are currently nine characteristics altogether. These are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.  There are also several ways in which discrimination can arise. These are: direct, indirect, discrimination by association, discrimination by perception, harassment and victimisation.  The Equality Act also contains a clause which allows employers to positively discriminate during recruitment in favour of disadvantaged groups when choosing between candidates who are otherwise equally qualified.  Find out more by reading the following articles:

• Minimising the Risk of Discrimination in Recruitment
• Discrimination in the UK
• Age Discrimination
• Female Gender Discrimination
• The Future of Work – New Employment Practices.