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Discrimination means treating some people differently from others. It isn't always unlawful – and in the workplace it is common as employees get different benefits and are paid different wages depending on their status and skills. However, some kinds of discrimination are unlawful. Anti-discrimination law in the employment area protects you if you are a worker, an employee, a former employee or an applicant for a job. It also protects you if you are not an employee as such, but are a contract worker, partner or office-holder (such as a director).
Unlawful discrimination happens when an employer treats you less favourably than other employees on the basis of one or more of the following protected characteristics (also known as ‘strands’):
Legislation protects employees against different forms of discrimination.
Direct discrimination happens when an employer treats you less favourably because of one or more of the protected characteristics when compared with another worker in similar circumstances, but who does not share that protected characteristic with you. For example, you are being discriminated against if, because of your gender, you are treated less favourably because than another employee of the opposite gender, whose circumstances are similar to yours. Sometimes, what looks like direct discrimination might not be unlawful if the discrimination was related to a characteristic which is essential to enable the employee to do the job successfully.
Your employer could be liable for a direct discrimination claim even if there was no intention to discriminate against you. Direct discrimination, except for direct age discrimination, can never be justified (see below).
Indirect discrimination is where an employer’s formal or informal workplace policies, practices or criteria put people with a particular protected characteristic at a disadvantage, compared to those who do not share that particular protected characteristic. It does not matter whether or not this has been done intentionally.
For example, saying that applicants for a job must be clean shaven puts members of some religious groups at a disadvantage.
Your employer can defend a claim of indirect discrimination by ‘justifying’ it. This means that they must show that the use of the unlawful working practice, provision or criteria is a proportionate means to achieve a legitimate aim.
For example, in the above scenario, the condition that applicants must be clean shaven might be ‘a proportionate means to achieve a legitimate aim’ if the job involved handling food and it could be shown that having a beard or moustache was a genuine hygiene risk. Your employer will also need to show that this has been applied consistently in its recruitment practice.
Indirect discrimination does not apply to disability discrimination. Instead of that, two other forms of discrimination are applicable only to disability discrimination:
Harassment in the workplace happens when someone’s conduct has the purpose or effect of violating another’s dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment on the basis of any of the above protected characteristics. This is the case, for example, if someone uses sexist language towards you and you find such language humiliating, or if you work in an open-plan office and sexist language is used in general which you find degrading.
Note that you will not be protected by the anti-discrimination regulations if you are over sensitive and unreasonably take offence to an innocent comment.
If the harassment is not on one of the discrimination grounds above, it will not be harassment in terms of the anti-discrimination laws, but it might still be unlawful as all employers have an obligation to ensure their employees can carry out their duties without harassment and disruption by fellow workers. The employer could in certain circumstances be held liable for the actions of harassment of its employees.
The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 could, in exceptional cases, where the unwanted conduct is 'oppressive and unacceptable' and where it could sustain criminal liability, also protect you against harassment. Such harassment must, however, result from a course of action (i.e. at least 2 incidences) which causes you distress. In this instance, you may also be able to make your employer vicariously liable for the oppressive and unacceptable actions of any of its employees towards you. Under this act you have 6 years after the harassment incident to bring your claim in a county or high court, while under the anti-discrimination laws you have 3 months to lodge your claim with an employment tribunal.
You might be subjected to bullying at work. Often an employer will have separate policies covering the steps you should take in the event that you are subjected to bullying. Bullying is similar to harassment except that it normally happens in the presence of other colleagues, although it can also happen in writing, by fax or email, or over the phone. The employee suffering the bullying is often someone in a less senior position than the bully. You would not bring a claim for bullying as such but would bring a claim under harassment. If, however, you are forced to resign as a result of the bullying, you might have a constructive dismissal claim against your employer.
More information on bullying can be found at the Directgov website 
. See also our article: ‘Bullying in the workplace’.
Victimisation is where you are being treated less favourably in relevant circumstances by your employer or a co-worker than they would treat others in those circumstances, because:
or grievance procedure (i.e. to inform the relevant authorities of an underhand or illegal practice) rules
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