Direct Discrimination
Direct Discrimination occurs when someone is treated less favourably than another person because of a protected characteristic they have or are thought to have (see Perceptive Discrimination below), or because they associate with someone who has a protected characteristic (see Associative Discrimination below).
Associative Discrimination
This already applies to Race, Religion or Belief and Sexual Orientation. It is now extended to cover Age, Disability, Gender Reassignment and Sex. This is direct discrimination against someone because they associate with another person who possesses a protected characteristic.
Perceptive Discrimination
This already applies to Age, Race, Religion or Belief and Sexual Orientation. It is now extended to cover Disability, Gender Reassignment and Sex. This is direct discrimination against an individual because others think they possess a particular protected characteristic. It applies even if the person does not actually possess the characteristic.
Indirect Discrimination
This already applies to Age, Race, Religion or Belief, Sex, Sexual Orientation and Marriage and Civil Partnership. It is now extended to cover Disability and Gender Reassignment.
Indirect Discrimination can occur when you have a condition, rule, policy or even a practice in your organisation that applies to everyone but particularly disadvantages people who share a protected characteristic.
Harassment
Harassment is "unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual's dignity or creating intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual".
Employees will now be able to complain of behaviour that they find offensive even if it is not directed at them, and the complainant need not possess the relevant characteristic themselves. Employees are also protected from harassment because of perception and association.
Third Party Harassment
This already applies to Sex. It is now expected to cover Age, Disability, Gender Reassignment, Race, Religion or Belief and Sexual Orientation.
The Equality Act makes you potentially liable for harassment of your employees by people (third parties) who are not employees of your company, such as customers or clients.