The main law that covers discrimination at work is the Equality Act 2010. Discrimination in the workplace is based on certain prejudices and occurs when an employee is treated unfavourably because of gender, sexuality, race, religion, pregnancy and maternity or disability.
If you treat someone differently because they possess different characteristics to other members of staff you could be acting unlawfully. Direct discrimination occurs when someone is treated less favourably than other employees. For example, the employee has the qualifications to do the job but you turn them down because you think they might want to start a family soon.
Direct discrimination can also occur when you pay someone less than other employees for no good reason, you select particular workers for redundancy based on protected characteristics, you don’t make reasonable adjustments for a disabled worker, you sack someone for making allegations of discrimination or you unfairly reject a request for flexible working from a new parent.
Indirect discrimination occurs when certain rules or regulations put certain staff members at a disadvantage. For example, if you insist all workers should work Sundays, this could be seen as discriminating against Christians who consider it a day of worship.
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