This can help: someone or a group of people who are disadvantaged or underrepresented in the organisation. You can change the sex on your birth certificate if you have a gender recognition certificate. Wed like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. The employer knows from Census data that the Asian population in Oldham is much higher than 10% which means that, from a local perspective, Asian people are underrepresented in their workforce. For example, placing an advertisement that required all applicants to have certain GCSE qualifications may discriminate against those who come from countries that do not provide these qualifications. Marriage, same-sex Marriage and Civil Partnership. Before you take action about discrimination, you need to decide what outcome you want and the best way to achieve it. Check how toshow youre disabled under the Equality Act. Dont worry we wont send you spam or share your email address with anyone. All rights reserved. In particular, an employer must reasonably think that one of the 3 conditions disadvantage, different needs, or disproportionately low participation applies to the particular group before taking measures targeting it. The name of the case is Ms R Taylor v Jaguar Land Rover Ltd. You can read the full employment tribunal decision on GOV.UK. Discrimination and Protected Characteristics Group sort. Intersex people are not legally recognised in the UK and intersex is not a protected characteristic under the Equality Act. For example if youre Christian, you must not be discriminated against for believing in creationism. This is discrimination because of marriage. The Equality Act defines your sexuality as your sexual orientation to men, women or both. Please tell us more about why our advice didn't help. Learn how to identify your leverage, build a solid argument, review your options and resolve your employment issue. Step 3 Consider how you will take action. General positive action is action taken by an employer that is a proportionate way of: Action may be taken when any one or more of these conditions exist. Some conditions are automatically treated as a disability under the Equality Act, including cancer and HIV. Introduction. As part of this, you should think about how long you will need to take the actions and factor in appropriate times to review how well they are working. This is called discrimination by perception. 2.01. You cannot discriminate against someone who is married or in a civil partnership. This also includes action taken to eradicate pre-existing discriminatory policies or practices. News stories, speeches, letters and notices, Reports, analysis and official statistics, Data, Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports. But access to justice doesnt have to be. What are the Nine Protected Characteristics? Advice for people affected by child abuse. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk. Discrimination based on a persons sex is an offence. Equality Act 2010: A quick start guide to positive action in service provision for voluntary and community organisations (PDF). If you want to show your beliefs are philosophical, you need to show: its a moral, ethical, personal or philosophical belief - not an opinion based on facts, its about an important aspect of human life and behaviour, its worthy of respect in a democratic society and compatible with human dignity. Check your rights while youre on maternity leave. Its often a good idea to mention any clear link between the protected characteristics and the way you have been treated.. Youre protected from maternity and pregnancy discrimination while youre pregnant. You cant be discriminated against because youre pregnant, suffering from pregnancy-related illness, are breastfeeding, or have recently given birth.. Your religious beliefs are also protected. For example, you mustnt be discriminated against for being an atheist. Learn more. Well send you a link to a feedback form. One of the applicants is over 50 and the other is younger. Age. UK law protects people who are discriminated against because of certain personal attributes. Pregnancy and maternity. The service manager chooses to offer the job to the Jewish candidate. It doesnt mention non-binary people. The 9 protected characteristics Last updated: January 9, 2023 This guide applies to Employment Law in England, Scotland and Wales. A. Positive action is entirely voluntary. You can change your cookie settings at any time. This is an important first step as you will need some evidence on why action may be needed. The scope of this characteristic can be wide-ranging in practice. dyslexia, ADHD, overachievers) using digital technologies. A large construction firm is reviewing the diversity of their employees at senior levels. What Are The 9 Protected Characteristics Under The Equality Act? Participation may be low compared with the proportion of people with: The Act permits action to be taken to enable or encourage people who share the protected characteristic to participate in that activity. Here is a short summary of the things you should consider when thinking about using positive action in your organisation: Step 1 Consider why you want to take action. Protected characteristics. by Juliemilner. The Equality Act is from 2010 and it doesnt reflect the language lots of people use to describe their gender or their transition. Background. This sort of intervention would not be unlawful discrimination because it would be a targeted, proportionate intervention to deal with the low participation of women in engineering. If you dont take maternity leave, it ends two weeks after your child is born, When the protected period has ended, you still cant be discriminated against for having taken maternity leave or tried to take maternity leave, Your boss doesnt give you an interesting project because they think you wont cope due to your pregnancy - but theyve been given no grounds to think that, You are given a different position after returning from maternity leave, and you dont feel this is equivalent to your previous role, You complain that you were treated unfairly because you are pregnant, and you are then treated badly because you complained, homophobic comments in the workplace (what some people call workplace banter), for example equating being a gay man with being weak and unmanly, refusing to give someone a job because they are perceived as being gay, even if they are not, excluding bisexual people from LGBTQ+ events, not being given extra responsibilities because you look too young, regardless of your actual age, being teased by co-workers because you are married to someone who is much older than you, companies using social media algorithms to publish age-targeted job adverts, when the job could be done by any qualified applicant, You are not invited on a work night out because you are married and your colleagues think you wouldn't be interested in socialising, You lose your job after getting married because your employer assumes you wouldnt want to work nights any more, You are denied a residential training opportunity because your employer thinks you wouldnt want to be away from your spouse for long. Under the Equality Act 2010, the protected characteristics for which a worker will be afforded protection against discrimination are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. This would be unlawful indirect discrimination unless it could be shown that the need for these work patterns could be objectively justified. They are: age; disability (this can include mental health problems) . It isnt usually covered by the Equality Act - unless the business or service could have stopped it happening. They consult with employees, through their staff networks, and find that there is a significant proportion of Muslim women in their workforce who do not speak English as their first language and that this acts as a barrier to access training opportunities. However, employers should ensure that any criteria do not indirectly discriminate against people who share a protected characteristic for example, a requirement that staff must work shift patterns that mean they have to be on-call at certain fixed times might put women, who are more likely to be responsible for childcare, at a disproportionate disadvantage. It is illegal to fire someone because they fall pregnant. If its not discrimination, that doesnt mean that the way youre being treated is ok. Where one candidate is clearly superior or better qualified for the job than the others, then an employer should offer the position to that candidate irrespective of protected characteristics. More information on positive action in recruitment is available in later sections of this guidance. All suitably qualified candidates must be considered on their individual merits for the post in question. This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. You need to check if what you experienced counts as one or more of the types of discrimination. If an employer wishes to use characteristics that are not protected to inform decisions on hiring or promotion for example, socio-economic background they should seek legal advice to ensure their criteria is not discriminatory. There are 2 types of positive action that are set out in the Equality Act 2010: This involves proportionate actions which are designed to meet the 3 aims above. What exactly are these protected characteristics? Employers will make different decisions on how best to collect information from their employees. This could make it unlawful to continue to take the action. It is unlikely that there will be a good justification for taking the action if there are other options available and employers may need to demonstrate that the proposed action is the only way to address the underrepresentation or disadvantage effectively. There are some exceptions to these, depending on the characteristic. Proportionate has the same meaning as it has for general employment positive action see What does proportionate mean. You might be a citizen of more than one country - for example, you could have British and Armenian dual citizenship. What does it mean to have power of attorney? As the positive action provisions are exceptions to the rules against discrimination, they are only relevant if an employer wishes to treat a group more favourably based on a protected characteristic that is in the Act. If you experience discrimination after you stop being protected from pregnancy discrimination, you might be able to claim sex discrimination. Got questionsabout this article?Ask in our, The disability charity Scope has a discussion forum for employment related issues, The Equality Act explanatory notes give more detail about what is classified as a religion or belief, an employment rights advice line for pregnant women and new mothers, Read the Employment Tribunal decision from a successful case about non-binary discrimination. Protected characteristics and personal information college.police.uk 3 Protected characteristic Prefer not to say % Age 7.1% Gender identity 10.4% Sex 10.6% Pregnancy and maternity 10.9% Ethnicity 11.7% Gender reassignment 11.8% Disability 12.3% Marital status and civil partnership 13.6% Sexual orientation 15.5% Religion 15.5% If one candidate is superior to another the position should be offered to that candidate. This is called discrimination by association. You must not usually be discriminated against because of: an age group youre in - for example young people, millennials or over-60s. If you work out that you havent experienced discrimination under the Equality Act, you might still be able to take action using different laws. In late 2017, Office for National Statistics (ONS) began an audit of data sources and publications that are available to understand equalities in the UK today including outcomes for all nine of the protected characteristic groups covered by the Equality Act 2010 1. The Equality Act protects everyone from discrimination as we all have some of these characteristics. Disability. Gender Reassignment. Dont include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. Non-binary is not legally recognised as a sex in the UK. For example, banks are allowed to set age limits on mortgage lending. Sex. by Leighanne. If an action treating a particular group more favourably does not meet the statutory requirements in the Act for taking positive action, then it is likely to be unlawful direct discrimination under the Act, irrespective of the motives behind taking it. As above, introducing such quotas could constitute positive discrimination as they are mandatory and employers may need to put forward less qualified candidates for hiring or promotion opportunities to meet any minimum restrictions. There are also extra types of discrimination youre protected from if youre disabled or youre pregnant. It may simply involve an employer looking at the profiles of their workforce or making enquiries of other comparable employers in the area or sector as a whole. Therefore, when undertaking measures under the positive action provisions under section 158 or 159 of the Act, it would be advisable for employers to indicate that they intend to take the action only so long as the relevant conditions apply, rather than indefinitely. Its up to a court or tribunal to decide what counts as a philosophical belief. are planning to transition from the sex you were assigned at birth to a different sex. The nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 are: Under the Act is it an offence to discriminate directly or indirectly based on these characteristics. We recommend that employers have read and understood the positive action chapter in the Code of Practice on Employment, in addition to this guidance. General positive action in the context of employment can relate to things that fall outside of recruitment and promotion, such as career development initiatives, targeted or bespoke training to meet the specific needs of a particular group and providing additional support through mentoring or shadowing schemes. What are my rights returning to work after maternity leave? The 9 protected characteristics are: Age Disability Gender reassignment - this means if you're transgender Marriage and civil partnership Pregnancy and maternity Race Religion or belief Sex Sexuality If someone discriminates against you because they think you have a protected characteristic You must not be discriminated against because youre lesbian, gay, bisexual or straight. If there is no evidence that any groups are experiencing barriers, you should not use positive action. Every person has some of these characteristics. Positive action can also apply to the provision of services, which is covered in separate guidance. Other courts dont have to follow this decision. The Equality Act 2010 protects people in England, Scotland and Wales from discrimination. age gender reassignment being married or in a civil partnership being pregnant or on maternity leave disability race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin religion or belief sex. The Act enables action to be taken to overcome or minimise disadvantage connected to a protected characteristic which is experienced by people who share that protected characteristic. If you are satisfied that you have a good reason for taking positive action, you should think about what type of action you want to take and how this will address the barriers you have identified. October 11, 2022 What is the Equality Act? To ensure adherence to the law, employers must have a good grasp on precisely what these characteristics are. For example, an employer may go into an appointment exercise prepared to use the tie-breaker provisions to address the disproportionately low number of women within its engineering division, only to identify a clearly superior male candidate the option to use the tie-breaker would then become irrelevant. It is not unlawful discrimination to take proportionate, specific action aimed at alleviating disadvantage or underrepresentation experienced by groups who share any of these characteristics. The Employment Tribunal found that Cheshire Police Service directly discriminated on grounds of sex, race and sexual orientation against Mr Furlong, who was a white, heterosexual male. There is no requirement for an employer to use positive action. There are things you can do if youve experienced discrimination under the Equality Act. disability A person has a disability if they have a physical or mental difficulty that makes In order to do this lawfully, you should understand what the legislation allows and familiarise yourself with the full guidance. The Equality Act says you only have the protected characteristic of gender reassignment if youre transitioning from one sex to another. If you need to go to court, its important to act quickly - the time limits can be as little as 3 months from the date you experienced discrimination. This article gives some examples of what this might look like. You can take action if youve experienced unlawful discrimination. These provisions only apply when the candidates being considered are as qualified and only permitted where it is a proportionate way of addressing the underrepresentation or disadvantage. One candidate has a mobility impairment, another has a learning disability and the third has no form of disability. What is workplace harassment and how is it different from bullying? It can be discrimination by perception even if the person knows you dont have the protected characteristic. Taking positive action based on that information would usually be lawful because LGBT employees in this example have protected characteristic(s) that is underrepresented in the [employers] workforce sexual orientation or gender reassignment. Positive action allows additional help to be provided for groups of people who share a protected characteristic (for example, race, sex, or sexual orientation) in order to level the playing field. Positive discrimination is unlawful in Great Britain. 1. For example if your colleague discriminates against you, your colleague and your employer are both legally responsible. Discrimination by association applies to all protected characteristics except: This means its not discrimination if someone treats you unfairly because youre associated with someone who is pregnant, married or in a civil partnership. The Equality Act describes what sorts of behaviour count as different types of discrimination. Age Employers cannot discriminate against employees, no matter what their age. Can I be forced back into the office after remote working? A protected characteristic-also referred to as a protected class-is a personal trait that cannot be used as a reason to discriminate against someone. To use positive action provisions in a tie-breaker situation, the employer must first establish that the candidates are of equal merit. What are the protected characteristics? You cannot discriminate against a person because of their age. Race discrimination is an offence under The Equality Act 2010. You should also understand the difference between positive action and positive discrimination (which is unlawful) before making decisions to ensure that any actions you take are lawful. The Equality Act 2010 protects everyone from being discriminated against because of nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. You must not be discriminated against because of your race. You dont have to disclose your disability. Discrimination and Protected Characteristics Group sort. A group of people who share a particular protected characteristic have different needs, if due to factors that especially apply to people who share that characteristic, they have needs that are different to those of other groups. If someone discriminates against you because of a protected characteristic, it might still be discrimination even if you dont have the characteristic. Under the Equality Act, there are nine Protected Characteristics: Age. As such, it is unlikely that the other candidate would be successful in any claim of unlawful religious discrimination. The 9 protected characteristics in the Equality Act are: age This means a person belonging to a particular age (for example 50 year olds) or range of ages (for example 16 to 25 year olds). For example, if the job requires heavy lifting, they can reject an applicant who cant physically lift things, you arent given an interview because your name suggests a certain ethnicity, a role profile states that you need an excellent level of written English communication skills, when this isnt really necessary to carry out the role, you arent invited to as many client meetings as your colleagues who have a different skin colour, being a member of a large religious community, following the tenets of a smaller religion, having a genuinely held, substantial, philosophical belief, not having a religion or particular belief, your employer dismisses you because of your religious beliefs, your shift pattern does not allow you to take a break for prayer, your employer asks applicants to a role to be of a specific religion, and this is not necessary to carry out the role, A workplace has a dress code policy which gives different standards for men and women, A mother is offered flexible working hours because of childcare responsibilities, but a father isnt offered the same because the employer assumes childcare is a womans job, People are making sexist comments in the workplace and this is not challenged by management, The protected period starts as soon as your employer knows, believes, or suspects that you are pregnant, The protected period ends when you come back to work after your maternity leave. Race- this includes ethnic or national origins, or nationality. This could include, for example, providing a leadership scheme to help an underrepresented group achieve more senior positions in an organisation or providing tailored training for a group because they have specific requirements. This is called vicarious liability. It can be confusing for employers and employees to know how each characteristic is protected by law. The law protects people against discrimination at work - this includes harassment and victimisation. But they can help you work out if you meet the definitions in the Equality Act. Its still race discrimination even if the discrimination isnt about your actual ethnic or national origins. Disadvantage may be obvious in relation to some issues, such as legal, social or economic barriers, or obstacles which make it difficult for people of a particular protected group to enter into or make progress in an occupation, a trade, a sector, or workplace. You cant be discriminated against at work because youre married or in a civil partnership., This is a narrow protection and doesnt include long term partners or offer protection for single people., Its quite common for cases to fall under more than one of these characteristics.. by Juliemilner. The Equality Act says your sex means if youre a man or a woman. The other candidate is a man who has no formal qualifications but has several years experience of working in leisure centres. If they do know, or could reasonably be expected to know, that you are disabled, the Equality Act protects you in many different ways.. by Esquires259. Thank you, your feedback has been submitted. Section 158 does not apply when the specific criteria in section 159 apply. If you werent discriminated against because of a protected characteristic, its not discrimination under the Equality Act. This is because the Equality Act protects people against discrimination because of the protected characteristics that we all have. The bank could decide to take positive action and give the job to the younger candidate. They are: Age Employers must consider whether candidates are of equal merit in relation to the specific job or position they are applying for. The general positive action provisions do not apply in cases where the specific positive action in recruitment and promotion apply. If employers have reviewed progress and found that they have met their original aims, they should cease any positive action measures that were designed to meet those aims as they will no longer have a case for treating some groups more favourably than others under the positive action provisions. The Act does not limit the action that employers can take to meet different needs, provided the action satisfies the statutory conditions and is a proportionate means of achieving the aim of meeting genuinely different needs. For example, advertising a job welcoming applications from suitably qualified black teachers as they are underrepresented in a school would not come under the recruitment or promotion provisions. For positive action to be lawful, an employer must reasonably think that one of the above conditions disadvantage connected to the characteristic, different needs, or disproportionately low participation applies.
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