Prevent discrimination at work

The Equality Act 2010 protects job applicants, employees, workers, some self-employed people you hire to do the work personally, and former workers. It covers every stage of the relationship: recruitment, pay and terms, promotion, training, dismissal and references.

Who is protected and from what

You are liable for what your staff do

Anything an employee does in the course of their employment is treated as also done by you, whether or not you knew about it or approved it. The only defence is to prove you took all reasonable steps to prevent the employee doing it, or doing anything of that description. The employee is also personally liable.

Prevent harassment, including by customers

For sexual harassment the Act requires you to act before anything happens, and it makes you answerable for harassment by customers and other third parties.

Put reasonable steps in place

What counts as reasonable depends on your size, your sector and the work your people do. These are the steps Acas sets out:

• Write a policy that says how you deal with bullying, discrimination and harassment, including how you handle complaints, and check that your absence, dress code, flexible working, social media and recruitment policies match it.
• Tell every member of staff what behaviour is unacceptable and where to find the policy, and give them regular equality and diversity training.
• Train line managers and supervisors to recognise discrimination, to deal with complaints and to set an example.
• Follow a full and fair procedure for every complaint, in line with the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures, and keep a record of what you did.
• Assess the risk of harassment, especially in roles that deal with customers, clients or suppliers, and act to reduce it. Record why you chose not to take any step you considered and rejected.
• Check from time to time whether the steps work, for example through staff surveys, turnover by group and the number and outcome of complaints.

Recruit without discriminating

Apply the same criteria to every candidate and keep a record of why you chose the person you did. Do not ask about an applicant's health before you offer them work, or before you put them in a pool of candidates you intend to choose from. The exceptions are narrow: for example, asking whether they can take part in an assessment, whether they can do something intrinsic to the job, or for anonymous diversity monitoring. Only the Equality and Human Rights Commission can enforce this rule, but discriminating on the strength of a health answer is a claim in its own right.

Adjustments and equal pay

Failing to make a reasonable adjustment for a disabled employee or applicant is discrimination in itself.

Men and women doing equal work must receive equal pay and contractual terms, and that duty works separately from the rules above.

What a claim costs

Employees, workers and applicants claim in an employment tribunal.