Preventing discrimination at work

Who is protected: the nine protected characteristics

Section 4 of the Equality Act 2010 defines nine characteristics that are protected from discrimination. Everyone has at least some of these characteristics, so the Act protects everyone - not just minority groups.

All nine protected characteristics apply to employment under Part 5 of the Act. You must not discriminate at any stage of the employment relationship: recruitment, terms and conditions, promotion, training, dismissal, and even post-employment references.

What you must prevent: types of discrimination

The Equality Act prohibits four main types of unlawful conduct. Understanding these is essential because each has different legal tests and defences.

Direct discrimination cannot be justified (except for age), so if you treat someone less favourably because of a protected characteristic, you have broken the law regardless of your intentions. Indirect discrimination can be justified if you show a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim - but this is a high bar.

Reasonable adjustments for disabled employees

Unlike other forms of discrimination where the law requires "treating everyone the same", disability discrimination works differently. Section 20 of the Equality Act imposes a proactive duty to make reasonable adjustments that remove barriers for disabled employees and applicants.

Failure to make a reasonable adjustment is treated as discrimination in itself - you do not need to show less favourable treatment. The duty arises when you know (or ought reasonably to know) that an employee has a disability and is placed at substantial disadvantage.

Practical point: You cannot require employees to pay for adjustments, but significant government funding is available through Access to Work grants - up to £69,800 per year in 2025.

Equal pay between men and women

Equal pay law is often misunderstood. It operates through an implied "sex equality clause" in every employment contract (Section 66). This automatically modifies any contractual term that is less favourable than a comparator of the opposite sex doing equal work.

Equal pay is distinct from the gender pay gap (see below). Equal pay means paying the same for the same or equivalent work. A gender pay gap measures the average difference in pay across your whole workforce - you can have no equal pay issues but still have a gender pay gap.

Your liability for employees' discriminatory acts

Under Section 109, you are vicariously liable for discriminatory acts committed by your employees "in the course of employment". This is interpreted very broadly by tribunals and includes:

• Discrimination at work events, parties, and conferences
• Work trips and travel
• Social events closely connected to work
• Social media posts with a tangible link to the workplace

The only statutory defence is to prove you took "all reasonable steps" to prevent the discrimination. This is a high bar.

What constitutes "all reasonable steps"

• Written equal opportunities policy covering all protected characteristics, communicated to all staff
• Regular training on discrimination for all staff, with more detailed training for managers
• Clear reporting procedures that employees know about and trust
• Prompt, impartial investigation of complaints
• Disciplinary action where discrimination is confirmed
• Senior management commitment that is visible and consistent

A policy that sits in a drawer, or one-off training from years ago, will not establish the defence. You must show ongoing, active compliance efforts.

Common compliance mistakes

• Asking health questions before offering a job: Section 60 prohibits pre-employment health questions except in limited circumstances (assessing reasonable adjustments for recruitment, monitoring, genuine occupational requirements). Wait until you have made a conditional offer.
• Assuming employees will disclose disability: Employees are not obliged to tell you. If you notice someone struggling, ask whether any support would help - without requiring them to label themselves.
• Blanket policies without justification: Rules like "no beards", "no religious dress", or "must work Sundays" can constitute indirect discrimination unless you can objectively justify them as proportionate to a legitimate aim.
• Ignoring harassment from customers: You have a duty to protect employees from third-party harassment. Under the Worker Protection Act 2023 (effective October 2024), failure to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment by customers, clients, or suppliers can result in a 25% uplift to compensation awards.
• Retaliating against complainants: Victimisation claims are common where employees are treated badly after raising discrimination concerns. Even if the original complaint was unfounded, detrimental treatment is unlawful unless the complaint was made in bad faith.
• Confusing positive action with positive discrimination: You can take proportionate steps to address underrepresentation (training, outreach, tie-break between genuinely equal candidates). You cannot automatically prefer candidates based solely on protected characteristics.

Enforcement and penalties

Discrimination claims are brought to employment tribunals. The time limit is currently 3 months minus 1 day from the discriminatory act (though the Employment Rights Bill 2024 proposes extending this to 6 months).

Before bringing a claim, employees must go through ACAS Early Conciliation. This is free and confidential, and many claims settle at this stage.

What tribunals can award

• Declaration: Formal finding that discrimination occurred
• Compensation: Unlimited - includes financial losses (past and future), injury to feelings (Vento bands: £1,200-£60,700+ from April 2025), personal injury if psychiatric harm proven
• Recommendations: Actions you must take to reduce harm to the claimant
• Interest: 8% per annum on awards

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) can also take enforcement action against employers, including formal investigations, compliance notices, and court applications for injunctions and fines.