The Equality Act 2010 protects nine characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, race (including ethnicity, nationality, and colour), religion/belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
Protection applies from day one of your employment — there is no qualifying period. Whether you're an employee, worker, contractor, or job applicant, you're covered.
Direct discrimination — you're treated worse than others because of a protected characteristic. For example, being passed over for promotion because of your race or age.
Indirect discrimination — your employer applies a policy, rule, or practice that puts people with your characteristic at a particular disadvantage. For example, requiring all staff to work Sundays, disadvantaging those with certain religious beliefs.
Harassment — unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment.
Victimisation — you're punished or treated badly for making a discrimination complaint, supporting someone else's complaint, or giving evidence in a discrimination case.
Discrimination law covers every stage of employment. This includes: recruitment and hiring decisions, pay and benefits, promotion and training opportunities, terms and conditions of employment, dismissal and redundancy selection, and even post-employment references.
If you've been treated less favourably at any of these stages because of a protected characteristic, you may have a discrimination claim.
Disability under the Act means a physical or mental condition that has a substantial and long-term effect (lasting or likely to last 12 months or more) on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. This includes long-term health conditions and mental health conditions.
Your employer has a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments. This can include: modifying your working hours, providing specialist equipment or software, adjusting your duties or workload, and allowing you to work from home.
Failure to make reasonable adjustments is itself a form of discrimination — you don't need to show your employer intended to discriminate.
You have the right to equal pay for equal work regardless of sex. "Equal work" means the same work, work rated as equivalent under a job evaluation scheme, or work of equal value.
If a colleague of a different sex is paid more for the same or equivalent work, you can bring an equal pay claim. Your employer must prove the pay difference is due to a genuine factor unrelated to sex.
Compensation for discrimination is uncapped — unlike unfair dismissal, there is no statutory cap on what a Tribunal can award for discrimination claims.
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General legal information only — not legal advice. For specific situations, consult ACAS or a qualified solicitor.