It is against the law to discriminate against someone because of:
age
being or becoming a transsexual person
being married or in a civil partnership
being pregnant or having a child
disability
race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
religion, belief or lack of religion/belief
sex
sexual orientation
These are called protected characteristics.
The law protects someone from discrimination in these situations:
at work
in education
as a consumer
when using public services
when buying or renting property
as a member or guest of a private club or association
Discrimination can be in the form of:
Direct discrimination – treating someone with a protected characteristic less favourably than others
Indirect discrimination – putting rules or arrangements in place that apply to everyone, but that put someone with a protected characteristic at an unfair disadvantage
Harassment – unwanted behaviour linked to a protected characteristic that violates someone’s dignity or creates an offensive environment for them
Victimisation – treating someone unfairly because they’ve complained about discrimination or harassment
Note: It can be lawful to have specific rules or arrangements in place, as long as they can be justified
Disability
Disabled people have the same rights as other workers but employers also need to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to help disabled employees and job-applicants with:
application forms (eg providing forms in Braille, audio formats)
aptitude tests (eg giving extra time to complete the tests)
dismissal or redundancy
discipline and grievances
interview arrangements (eg wheelchair access, communicator support)
making sure the workplace has the right facilities and equipment for disabled workers or someone offered a job
promotion, transfer and training opportunities
terms of employment, including pay
work-related benefits like access to recreation or refreshment facilities