Equality Act 2010
T H E E Q U A L I T Y A C T 2 0 1 0 E X P L A I N E D
The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. It replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single Act - such as the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and Race Relations Act 1976 - and instead encompasses all the ways in which it is unlawful to treat someone.
Under the Equality Act, it is against the law to discriminate against anyone because of their protected characteristics. This includes:
Age, Gender Reassignment, Marriage and Civil Partnership, Pregnancy and Maternity, Disability, Race and Ethnicity, Religion or Belief, Sexual Orientation, and Gender.
P R O V I S I O N S
The Equality Act 2010 provides protection against direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation in services and public environments, the workplace, education, associations and transport.
Some of its provisions include:
Removing the requirement for medical supervision during gender reassignment.
Providing protection for people discriminated against because they are perceived to have, or are associated with someone who has, a protected characteristic.
Protection for breastfeeding mothers.
Applying a formal definition of indirect discrimination to all protected characteristics.
Harmonising provisions allowing voluntary positive action.
D E F I N I T I O N S & E X A M P L E S
The Equality Act 2010 protects you from Direct Discrimination, Indirect Discrimination, Victimisation and Harassment.
DIRECT
This is where a policy or practice is applied in the same way to everyone, but it puts someone with a protected characteristic at a disadvantage.
INDIRECT
This is where one person is treated worse than another because of a protected characteristic.
VICTIMISATION
If you’re treated badly because you complain about discrimination or you help someone who has been discriminated against.
HARASSMENT
Harassment is where someone creates an atmosphere that makes you feel uncomfortable - this could be because you feel offended, intimidated or humiliated.
Example:
A person is rejected from a job company that sources wines. Based off their name, the employer believes they are Muslim and assumes they would not want to work with alcohol. The person is not Muslim. This is direct discrimination by perception.
Example:
A job advert for a salesperson says applicants must have spent 10 years working in retail. By doing this the business could be discriminating indirectly based on age. This is because the advert excludes young people who may still have the skills and qualifications needed.
Example:
You make a complaint of sex discrimination against your employer. As a result, you're denied a promotion.
Example:
During a training session at work, the trainer keeps commenting how slow an older employee is at learning how to use a new software package because of their age.
E X P A N D Y O U R K N O W L E D G E
The Equality Act 2010 can be difficult to get your head around. The CDS have developed this guide to simifly
The Equality Act 2010 has made it is against the law to discriminate against someone because of a protected characteristic.
This quick start guide is intended to help employers and job applicants understand new provisions in the Act which prevent employers asking job applicants questions about health or disability during early stages of the recruitment process.
This course on Love to Learn is designed to explore the Equality Act 2010, and the protected characteristics.
R E P O R T I N G T O O L
Here at LUU we take incidents of bullying, harassment and unwanted behaviour seriously.
This reporting tool can be used by any member of LUU staff to report any incidents of bullying, harassment, or unwanted behaviour that they may witness or experience. Please note, whilst there is the option to remain anonymous, doing so may reduce the ability of LUU to take any appropriate action.
We would encourage you to raise any concerns directly with the People Team or your Line manager first, if you feel able to.