Employee Discrimination Lawyers

Employment Discrimination Law

The key piece of legislation governing employee discrimination law in the UK is the Equality Act 2010. This Act combines previous anti-discrimination laws, including the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. There are nine protected characteristics which are covered under the Act.

These are:-

1. Age;
2. Disability;
3. Sex;
4. Sexual orientation;
5. Religion or Belief;
6. Marriage & Civil Partnership;
7. Gender reassignment;
8. Pregnancy & Maternity;

An employee faces discrimination when they are unfairly treated. This happens when someone without the same protected characteristic is treated better. The unfair treatment must be because of the protected characteristic.

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Discrimination in the Workplace

Workplace discrimination can have a serious impact on people. It can lower job satisfaction and reduce productivity. It also affects businesses by damaging morale and performance.

If someone is treated unfairly because of a protected characteristic (like race, gender or disability), they may have a claim. Discrimination claims can be more serious than unfair dismissal claims. That’s because there is no limit to the amount of compensation someone can get.

Employees can claim lost wages. They may also receive money for the emotional impact of being treated unfairly: this is called injury to feelings.

How to Raise a Complaint: The ACAS Grievance Procedure

If you want to report discrimination at work, you can follow your employer’s internal grievance process. This is often in the staff handbook or on the company’s intranet.

If your company doesn’t have a formal process, you can use the ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) guidelines. ACAS provides a standard way to raise and handle complaints.

Before going to a tribunal, employees should try early conciliation through ACAS. This gives both sides a chance to resolve the issue without going to court.

The time spent in early conciliation pauses the deadline for making a tribunal claim. Normally, you must bring a discrimination claim within three months of the incident.

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Employee Discrimination Reading

The individual should put their employee discrimination complaint in writing and request an investigation and a meeting to discuss their concerns. The employer should investigate the complaint carefully. They should set up a meeting where the employee is entitled to be accompanied by a colleague or a trade union representative.

The decision needs to be confirmed in writing and the employee should be allowed to appeal the decision to a higher level of management than the original chair of the meeting.

If the grievance process does not resolve the concerns, the employee should consider commencing the ACAS early conciliation process and issuing a claim at the Employment Tribunal.

For further information on filing a discrimination claim at the Employment Tribunal please follow this link.

Equal Opportunities Procedure Procedure

Employers should include equal opportunities procedures in their employee handbook. They should also implement rigorous training for managers to avoid the risk of discrimination claims. Implementing appropriate policies and applying training is advisable for all employers. The risk of a discrimination claim brings with it a significant financial risk with unlimited damages claims.

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