Equal Opportunities

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It is unlawful to discriminate against an employee on the grounds of their sex, age, race, sexual orientation, in fact discrimination of any kind shpould not be tolerated as an employer. A persons nationality religion or beliefs should not affect their chances of being employed. As an employer, owner or manager you may be held responsible for any discriminatory action taken by your employees.
Sex discrimination at work is unlawful in all parts of employment. The law covers recruitment, terms and conditions, pay and benefits, status, training, promotion and transfer opportunities, right through to redundancy and dismissal.

Discrimination in recruitment and induction

When choosing the right person as a new employee, it is both unlawful and unfair to discriminate against any candidates. Any decision made should be based purely on who is the best candidate for the job. Action could be taken against you if someone believes they have been denied the oportunity of a job due to discrimination.

What counts as a disability?

The Disability Discrimination Act defines disability as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. This doesn't include drug or alcohol abuse or a tendency to start fires, steal or physically abuse others, amongst other exclusions.

Great care should be taken according to the Disability Discrimination Act 2004, when advertising jobs, the wording of the advertisement should be sensitively written and should not incurr that an employer would prefer one type of person over another. It is unlawful for employers to discriminate against disabled people for a reason related to their disability, in all aspects of employment, unless this can be justified. While it is not illegal to ask for information about a person's disability, it is unlawful to use this information to discriminate against them.

An Advertisement that suggests the following is unlawful:

• an applicant will not be successful if they have any disability.
• the company will not be willing to make any reasonable adjustments that would make employment possible for a disabled person.

It is no longer lawful to advertise for 'young', 'newly qualified' or 'fully experienced' candidates. However, it is fair to use age as a basis if it is considered a requirement of the job.

During an interview, an employer should not ask questions that may seem to be discriminating in any way, questions such as plans to have chrildren, marital status, beliefs etc can all be constrewed as leading to discrimination.

Sex discrimination

By treating all male and female employees fairly and equally, you maximise your chances of recruiting the best person for the job and getting the best out of the employees you already have. The anti-discrimination legislation applies to all workers, not just employees.

Under the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act it's unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee or potential employee because of their sex or because they are married. It's also unlawful to discriminate against an employee because you've had, are having or intend to have, gender reassignment.

Sex discrimination laws cover almost all workers (men and women) and all types of organisation in the UK. Sex discrimination at work is unlawful in all parts of employment. The law covers recruitment, terms and conditions, pay and benefits, status, training, promotion and transfer opportunities, right through to redundancy and dismissal.

Equal pay - The 1970 Equal Pay Act made it unlawful for employers to discriminate between men and women in terms of their pay and conditions where they are doing the same or similar work; work rated as equivalent in a job evaluation study by the employer; or work of equal value.
Direct Discrimination - treating an employee differently because of their sex, because they are married or because of their gender reassignment. It could be treating somebody less favourably or leaving them out of group activities on grounds of their gender.
Indirect Discrimination - putting an employee at a disadvantage because of certain working practices or rules (eg setting a minimum height, which might discriminate against most women, or an employer's refusal to recruit part-time workers without good reason)
Harassment - behaving in an offensive manner, or encouraging or allowing other people to do so.
Victimisation - treating an employee unfairly for making a complaint about discrimination (for example, being prevented from going on training courses, taking unfair disciplinary action against you, or excluding you from company social events)
Employers who don't stop this sex and gender discrimination may themselves be discriminating unlawfully.

Penalties for discrimination

If a company is found guilty at an employment tribunal the compensation they may have to pay can be very high as there is no limit on penalty compensation claims. An employee can bring a claim however long they have worked at the business even if they are no longer employed by the company they can still make a claim up to 3 months of the incident.

Positive action

Positive action can be taken :- equality targets can be put in place as a way of eliminating historic imbalances in terms of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, age etc.