Discrimination and provisions of the Equality Act 2010
The law in relation to discrimination differs from other areas of employment law in two particular respects. The first is that there is no limit on the compensation that the court can award for breaches of the Equality Act 2010, the second is that rights under the act arise from the first day of employment, and in fact even earlier. Therefore it is conceivable that you could receive an employment tribunal claim from someone you have never encountered personally. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that your recruitment and selection and internal policies stand up to robust scrutiny should a challenge be issued. There are now 9 'Protected Characteristics':
- age
- sex
- sexual orientation
- race
- religion or belief
- gender reassignment
- disability
- pregnancy or maternity
- marriage or civil partnership
In addition to the general protections offered to the above categories, separate rules relate to harassment and associative discrimination, e.g being the parent of a disabled child affords protection. We can help you meet your obligations towards the promotion of a diverse workforce. This naturally extends to diversity training workshops, as well as production of workplace policies.
