The employer sets a target for increasing its Asian workforce and conducts outreach work in Asian communities promoting the factory with the aim of increasing its Asian workforce. You have accepted additional cookies. Dont include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. Some things courts have decided are philosophical beliefs include: Some things that courts have decided are not philosophical beliefs include: You must not be discriminated against because of your sex. Marriage, same-sex Marriage and Civil Partnership. There are also extra types of discrimination youre protected from if youre disabled or youre pregnant. The Equality Act protects everyone from discrimination as we all have some of these characteristics. Its illegal for you to be treated unfairly for reasons that relate to one of these characteristics. The 9 protected characteristics Last updated: January 9, 2023 This guide applies to Employment Law in England, Scotland and Wales. This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. Nine Protected Characteristics Group sort. This involves actions that reduce disadvantage and/or increase representation specifically when it comes to deciding between equally qualified candidates. Race discrimination is an offence under The Equality Act 2010. What are the 9 Protected Characteristics? | Citation The Equality Act 2010 protects everyone from being discriminated against because of nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. United States. The judge at the tribunal said the characteristic should include people transitioning away from their assigned sex - even if they arent going to transition to a different sex. This was the first step in developing a Centre for Equalities and . Every person has some of these characteristics. Managing protected characteristics at work Check if youre protected from disability discrimination, Equality Advisory Support Service discrimination helpline. To understand how the nine characteristics are protected, it is important to look at them in isolation. The other candidate is a man who has no formal qualifications but has several years experience of working in leisure centres. This sort of intervention would not be unlawful discrimination because it would be a targeted, proportionate intervention to deal with the low participation of women in engineering. What are the Nine Protected Characteristics? Disability is one of 9 'protected characteristics' covered by discrimination law (Equality Act 2010). Introduction. If you have certain policies in place, such as maternity leave, and they do not apply to same-sex couples, this will be an offence under the Equality Act 2010. You will need a proposed timeline for delivering the actions you want to take forward and decide how you will measure progress. Address the special needs of individual learners (e.g. You can check when businesses or services can discriminate against you because of your age. Why was the Equality Act Introduced? Some people may refer to this type of unlawful preferential treatment as positive discrimination. Valla is a platform built to allow people to resolve their own employment issues when they cant afford a law firm. Check how to take action about discrimination. The service manager chooses to offer the job to the Jewish candidate. Proportionate has the same meaning as it has for general employment positive action see What does proportionate mean. A counselling service for teenagers has no employees who are Jewish, despite being located in an area with a high Jewish population. This is the law that stops employers, businesses and service providers discriminating against you. This could therefore include groups not traditionally viewed as disadvantaged such as white individuals and men. But the bank couldnt give the job to the younger candidate if the older candidate would be able to do the job better that would be unlawful direct discrimination against the older candidate. Check your rights while youre on maternity leave. Got questionsabout this article?Ask in our, The disability charity Scope has a discussion forum for employment related issues, The Equality Act explanatory notes give more detail about what is classified as a religion or belief, an employment rights advice line for pregnant women and new mothers, Read the Employment Tribunal decision from a successful case about non-binary discrimination. An adviser wont be able to tell you if youve definitely experienced discrimination - only a court can decide this. Therefore, when undertaking measures under the positive action provisions under section 158 or 159 of the Act, it would be advisable for employers to indicate that they intend to take the action only so long as the relevant conditions apply, rather than indefinitely. Discrimination by perception applies to all protected characteristics except: This means its not discrimination if someone treats you unfairly because they mistakenly think youre pregnant, married or in a civil partnership. Discrimination against a person with disabilities could include refusing to install wheelchair ramps in the office or not allowing assistance dogs on the premises. This does not mean that the needs of a group have to be entirely unique from the needs of other groups to be considered different. Rights Under the Equality Act How Can You be Discriminated Against? This would be unlawful indirect discrimination unless it could be shown that the need for these work patterns could be objectively justified. As set out in the Statutory Code, it could include: Example (from the EHRC Code of Practice on Employment). If youre asexual, youre not currently protected from discrimination as an asexual. To qualify as a protected characteristic, a belief should affect a person's life choices and the way they live their life. You should also understand the difference between positive action and positive discrimination (which is unlawful) before making decisions to ensure that any actions you take are lawful. Equality Act (2010) Protected Characteristics Group sort. The Equality Act says you only have the protected characteristic of gender reassignment if youre transitioning from one sex to another. Protected characteristics: a guide for employers - myhrtoolkit The protected characteristics are: Positive action applies to all the protected characteristics above. If someone discriminates against you because of a protected characteristic, it might still be discrimination even if you dont have the characteristic. This is because the Equality Act protects people against discrimination because of the protected characteristics that we all have. If youre transgender, you have the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. We recommend that employers have read and understood the positive action chapter in the Code of Practice on Employment, in addition to this guidance. Handling Protected Characteristics at Work - Skillcast This would not be unlawful positive discrimination because: An employer is faced with having to choose between 3 candidates of equal merit for a post. 9 Protected characteristics. For example, the employer could undertake additional and targeted communications to promote their senior leadership scheme to their LGBT employees, including hosting a dedicated session for their LGBT staff network. You must not usually be discriminated against because of: an age group youre in - for example young people, millennials or over-60s. If you are satisfied that you have a good reason for taking positive action, you should think about what type of action you want to take and how this will address the barriers you have identified. Protected Characteristics | St. Gabriel's Catholic Primary School This article gives some examples of what this might look like. As noted, positive action in recruitment and promotion is only allowed where the action is a proportionate way of addressing the underrepresentation or disadvantage. Flash cards. [footnote 1]. Using protected characteristics to make decisions - Acas Outside of work, your protection ends 26 weeks after your baby is born. Executive summary If you are an employer in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), you can choose to use the positive action measures in the Equality Act 2010 to help people overcome. This could make it unlawful to continue to take the action. For example, a belief that mankind is heading towards catastrophic climate . protected characteristic definition: 1. one of nine personal characteristics or situations that cannot be used as a reason to. Its unlawful to discriminate against you because of one or more of the 9 protected characteristics. The law protects people against discrimination at work - this includes harassment and victimisation. The nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 are: age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation Under the Act is it an offence to discriminate directly or indirectly based on these characteristics. Its still race discrimination even if the discrimination isnt about your actual ethnic or national origins. This module covers the EdTech component - F2 : Equality and diversity. A. Pregnancy and maternity. In late 2017, Office for National Statistics (ONS) began an audit of data sources and publications that are available to understand equalities in the UK today including outcomes for all nine of the protected characteristic groups covered by the Equality Act 2010 1. In this case, you should mention all relevant characteristics until you get clearer evidence of which of the protected characteristics are relevant. It does not keep detailed records on the sexual orientation or gender reassignment status of their employees. The 9 protected characteristics - Valla If you work out that you havent experienced discrimination under the Equality Act, you might still be able to take action using different laws. What are protected characteristics? + Free Display Pack - Votes For Schools U.S. federal law protects individuals from discrimination or harassment based on the following nine protected classes: sex, race . But they can help you work out if you meet the definitions in the Equality Act. Employers will make different decisions on how best to collect information from their employees. someone thinks you are (or are not) a specific age or age group, this is known as discrimination by perception you are connected to someone of a specific age or age group, this is known as discrimination by association Age groups can be quite wide (for example, 'people under 50' or 'under 18s'). The 9 protected characteristics in the Equality Act are: age This means a person belonging to a particular age (for example 50 year olds) or range of ages (for example 16 to 25 year olds). A large construction firm is reviewing the diversity of their employees at senior levels. For example, its discrimination by perception if a pub refused to serve you and your friend because they thought you were a gay couple, even though youre not. Proportionate refers to the balancing of all the relevant factors. Without the positive action exceptions, taking action that deliberately and overtly advantages those with a particular protected characteristic over those without it would normally be unlawful under the Act. UK law protects people who are discriminated against because of certain personal attributes. Section 158 of the Act includes provisions on general positive action. Equality and Human Rights Commission, Employment: Statutory Code of Practice, Acas, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. They are: age; disability (this can include mental health problems) . Protected characteristics - Teaching resources - Wordwall The Equality Act 2010 outlines nine protected characteristics which it is illegal to discriminate against. When thinking about possible actions, you should consider whether they are proportionate to addressing the problem you have identified. The bank could decide to take positive action and give the job to the younger candidate. Race. The Equality Act says your sex means if youre a man or a woman. Information or evidence will be required to indicate to the employer that one of those conditions exists but it does not need to be sophisticated statistical data or research. For example, its discrimination by perception if your colleagues are harassing you by making jokes about you being gay - even though they know youre not. Participation may be low compared with the proportion of people with: The Act permits action to be taken to enable or encourage people who share the protected characteristic to participate in that activity. Employers must do all they reasonably can to protect people from discrimination and take steps to prevent disability discrimination at work. This guidance sets out how employers can make use of general positive action followed by how they can use positive action when it comes to recruitment and promotion. are planning to transition from the sex you were assigned at birth to a different sex. A health and fitness club is faced with making a choice between 2 applicants for a job as the manager of a leisure facility. For example, it might be unlawful discrimination if someone at your local leisure centre regularly harasses you and the staff dont do anything to stop it - even though you keep complaining. Work is the only place youre protected from discrimination because of marriage or civil partnership. Although the general aims to promote greater equality of opportunity are similar, affirmative action can be more prescriptive than positive action and often involves the use of quotas to reduce the underrepresentation of some groups. Age discrimination includes your actual age, and how old people think you are. An example of positive discrimination is the case of Furlong v Chief Constable of Cheshire Police. Equality Act 2010 - Wikipedia To address the underrepresentation of people with learning disabilities within the organisation, the employer selects the candidate with the learning disability. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Equality Act 2010 | What?, 9 Characteristics, Rights. Discrimination This is an important first step as you will need some evidence on why action may be needed. What are the nine protected characteristics? The nine protected characteristics The Equality Act 2010 protects nine characteristics: age disability gender reassignment marriage and civil partnership pregnancy and maternity race religion or belief sex sexual orientation. Such action could include: This provision applies to participation in any activity where the participation of those who share a protected characteristic is disproportionately low this can include employment and training. The Act lists nine protected characteristics. The protected characteristics explained Updated on 27 May 2022 Some explanation of the protected characteristics as identified under the Equality Act 2010 In the Equality Act 2010, nine characteristics were identified as 'protected characteristics'. This is not unlawful discrimination against male staff if the employer can demonstrate that womens representation in senior management is disproportionately low and that the company does not have a general policy of treating women more favourably than men when it comes to recruitment and promotion. It is unlikely that there will be a good justification for taking the action if there are other options available and employers may need to demonstrate that the proposed action is the only way to address the underrepresentation or disadvantage effectively. In these cases they would need to consider the positive action criteria against each characteristic. Protected characteristics | Equality and Human Rights Commission The Act says that action can only be taken where the employer reasonably thinks that participation in an activity by people sharing a particular protected characteristic is disproportionately low. This means that the employer will need to have some reliable indication or evidence that participation is low compared with that of other groups or compared with the level of participation that could reasonably be expected for people from that protected group. However, you might still be protected as lesbian, gay, bisexual or straight - for example if youre asexual and youre in a relationship. Protected characteristics Protected characteristics It is against the law to discriminate against someone because of a protected characteristic. There may be instances where an employer wants to address a disadvantage that has an impact on groups that share more than one protected characteristic. For example, advertising a job welcoming applications from suitably qualified black teachers as they are underrepresented in a school would not come under the recruitment or promotion provisions. Additionally, it could involve looking at national data such as labour force surveys for a national or local picture of the work situation for particular groups who share a protected characteristic. The Act does not limit the action that could be taken, provided it satisfies the statutory conditions and is a proportionate way of achieving the aim of overcoming a genuine disadvantage. Using Government Statistical Service harmonised standards can help employers collect information for all protected characteristics in a way that can be comparable with data from other employers, and national data from the government. The employer could choose to take positive action and provide additional English language courses primarily targeted at this group of workers. Ethnic and national origins can include lots of different things like: the country or region where you were born or grew up, where your parents or other family members came from, the ethnic group you belong to - for example, if youre Caribbean, Jewish or Irish Traveller. To find out more about the Equality Act 2010 and the nine protected characteristics, you can search for an experienced employment lawyer in your area through Solicitors Guru today. Religion or belief. Equality Act 2010: A quick start guide to positive action in service provision for voluntary and community organisations (PDF). PROTECTED CHARACTERISTIC - Cambridge English Dictionary To ensure adherence to the law, employers must have a good grasp on precisely what these characteristics are. You have rejected additional cookies. Discrimination against religion or belief can occur when an employer refuses to recruit someone who requires time off to observe religious practices. It is likely that this evidence will be available from your own workforce data or existing data or research. Disability. If youre not married or in a civil partnership, you dont have this protected characteristic - for example, if youre in an unmarried relationship or youre divorced. raise a formal grievance with your employer. Check how toshow youre disabled under the Equality Act. It is focused on the use of positive action in the workplace, including in recruitment and promotion. For example, you mustnt be discriminated against for being an atheist. Section 158 does not apply when the specific criteria in section 159 apply. Step 3 Consider how you will take action. Valla offers a low-cost alternative to pricey law firms. If its covered by the Equality Act, its unlawful discrimination - this means the discrimination is against the law. A decision could also be based on qualitative evidence which may be obtained in various ways, for instance through discussion with workers or their representatives. Allow for different learning pathways, levels and speeds when designing, selecting and implementing digital learning activities. What are Protected Characteristics at Work? | DavidsonMorris Sign up for a free account for a secure, confidential place to organise your documents and work out what you need to do next. Positive action in recruitment and promotion can be used where an employer reasonably thinks that people with a protected characteristic are underrepresented in the workforce, or suffer a disadvantage connected to that protected characteristic. For example, actions such as placing a job advertisement in a magazine with a largely ethnic minority readership as well as placing it in a national newspaper, or reviewing recruitment processes to ensure that they do not contain criteria that discriminate because of any protected characteristic, would not be classed as positive action. If positive action continues indefinitely, without any review, it may no longer be proportionate, as the action taken may have already remedied the situation the positive action was initially taken to resolve. Your nationality is the country where you have citizenship. The protection starts as soon as your pregnancy begins. There are time limits for taking legal action about discrimination. The Equality Actdoesnt specifically mention intersex people. Positive discrimination is unlawful in Great Britain. One candidate has a mobility impairment, another has a learning disability and the third has no form of disability. Whatever stage youre at when dealing with unfair treatment at work, Valla can help. General positive action is action taken by an employer that is a proportionate way of: Action may be taken when any one or more of these conditions exist. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk. If are an Indian woman being treated unfairly, is it because of race or sex discrimination? Transitioning could include things like changing your name, pronouns or the way you dress - you dont need to have had medical treatment. When a vacancy arises, 2 candidates of equal merit are in a tiebreaker situation with the employer having to find some way to choose between them. by Juliemilner. To use positive action provisions in a tie-breaker situation, the employer must first establish that the candidates are of equal merit. Race- this includes ethnic or national origins, or nationality. What are the protected characteristics? Your sex must still be registered as male or female on your birth certificate. You cannot discriminate against someone who is married or in a civil partnership. This is discrimination because of marriage. All of the other senior roles at that level are held by people over the age of 50. Positive action allows additional help to be provided for groups of people who share a protected characteristic (for example, race, sex, or sexual orientation) in order to level the playing field. by Leighanne. Please tell us more about why our advice didn't help. And third, although the police force had a legitimate aim to improve ethnic diversity in its force, the tribunal held that the blanket approach to positive action in recruitment was not reasonably necessary or a proportionate means of achieving that legitimate aim. Discrimination and Protected Characteristics Group sort. It is not unlawful discrimination to take proportionate, specific action aimed at alleviating disadvantage or underrepresentation experienced by groups who share any of these characteristics. The Act does not limit the action that employers can take to meet different needs, provided the action satisfies the statutory conditions and is a proportionate means of achieving the aim of meeting genuinely different needs. The employer knows from Census data that the Asian population in Oldham is much higher than 10% which means that, from a local perspective, Asian people are underrepresented in their workforce. Other actions relating to recruitment would not fall under the recruitment and promotion provisions. For example, you cannot pay a woman less than a man for the same position if they have similar experience and qualifications. Understanding disability discrimination - Acas Discrimination based on a persons sex is an offence. Disability is defined as any physical or mental impairment that has a long-term impact on a persons ability to perform day-to-day activities. when your maternity leave ends - if youre entitled to it, 2 weeks after your baby is born - if youre not entitled to maternity leave. However, employers can opt to use the positive action provisions to overcome or minimise a disadvantage connected to a persons disability, or increase the participation of people with a particular form of impairment. protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 - the 9 protected characteristics are: age, sex, race, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, gender . Some groups of people who share a particular characteristic may suffer disadvantage connected to that characteristic, have different needs compared to others without that characteristic, or are underrepresented in certain activities. the organisation's diversity and inclusion. At that stage all of the relevant factors that the employer will need to know to determine whether or not the candidates are truly as qualified as each other should have been established. If youve been treated unfairly or harassed, you should check if what happened is covered by the Equality Act 2010.