Discrimination in the workplace

Introduction

Discrimination law (Equality Act 2010) protects people against discrimination at work.
It’s important to understand what the law says about discrimination, so everyone knows their rights and responsibilities.

What counts as discrimination

Discrimination means treating someone ‘less favourably’ than someone else, because of:

  • age
  • disability
  • gender reassignment
  • marriage and civil partnership
  • pregnancy and maternity
  • race
  • religion or belief
  • sex
  • sexual orientation

These are called ‘protected characteristics’.

Less favourable treatment can be anything that puts someone with a protected characteristic at a disadvantage, compared to someone who does not have that characteristic.

There’s no legal definition of ‘putting someone at a disadvantage’. But it might include:

  • excluding someone from opportunities or benefits
  • making it harder for someone to do their job
  • causing someone emotional distress
  • causing someone financial loss

It can still be discrimination even if the less favourable treatment was not intended.

For pregnancy and maternity, discrimination means treating someone ‘unfavourably’. There’s no need to compare with how someone else is treated.

Discrimination due to ill-health

A medical condition is considered a disability if it has a “substantial” (more than minor) and “long-term” (lasts or likely to last 12 months or more) negative effect on normal daily activities. Progressive conditions like cancer, MS, or HIV are automatically covered.

Who is protected by discrimination law

The Equality Act 2010 protects the following people against discrimination:

  • anyone who works for an employer
  • contractors and self-employed people hired to personally do the work
  • job applicants
  • former workers

Discrimination by employer or other employees

The main responsibility for discrimination at work lies with employers.

By law, all employers must:

  • make sure they do not unfairly discriminate in any aspect of work
  • take steps to prevent discrimination
  • do all they reasonably can to protect people from discrimination by others
  • look after the wellbeing of their workers – this is called a ‘duty of care’

Not doing these things could cause harm and distress, and could result in discrimination complaints and employment tribunal claims.

Employers can be held responsible for the actions of their workers. This is called ‘vicarious liability’.

Anyone who discriminates against someone at work is also responsible for their own actions. Discrimination complaints and employment tribunal claims can be made against individuals as well as employers.

If you believe someone is discriminating against you, keep a record

It’s a good idea to keep a diary or record of what’s happened, including:

  • what happened
  • how it made you feel
  • dates and times it happened
  • any evidence, for example emails or screenshots of social media posts
  • any witnesses

Keeping a record can be especially helpful if you find talking about the experience particularly distressing.

Raising the problem informally

It’s usually best to raise the problem informally first. You can do this with your manager, HR or someone senior from work. Informal resolution is usually quicker and less stressful for everyone.

For example, Lou is a transgender woman. A colleague, Ash, asks what Lou’s name used to be. Lou is upset but believes Ash did not realise the question was offensive. Lou decides to raise the issue informally and asks their manager to talk to Ash. Later, the manager tells Lou that Ash is sorry and will not do it again. Lou is happy with this and the unwanted behaviour stops.

Not every situation will be suitable for informal resolution.

Find out more about how to raise a problem at work (opens in new tab on the ACAS website)

Raising the problem formally

You can raise a grievance if:

  • you’ve already tried to resolve things informally but it did not work
  • you feel the situation is too serious to be resolved informally
  • your employer has asked you to raise the problem formally, because they feel the matter is very serious

Raising a grievance is where you make a formal complaint to your employer.

For example, Lou is a transgender woman. Two colleagues insist on referring to Lou as ‘he’, even after other people ask them not to. The team manager refuses to get involved and tells Lou to ignore them. Lou feels the behaviour is deliberately malicious and is concerned by the manager’s attitude. Lou thinks this a serious issue and contacts HR to raise a formal complaint.

Your employer might encourage you to try informal resolution first, if you have not done that already. However, they should allow you to raise a problem formally if that’s what you want. If you cannot agree on an approach together, your employer should deal with it formally.

Find out more about raising a grievance (opens in new tab on the ACAS website)

What your employer should do

Your employer should take your discrimination complaint seriously and look into it as soon as possible.

Find out how employers should handle a discrimination complaint (opens in new tab on the ACAS website)

If the problem is not resolved

If you make a formal complaint and this does not resolve the problem, you can consider making a claim to an employment tribunal.

There are strict time limits for making a claim. In most cases, you have 3 months minus 1 day from the date the discrimination happened. If the time limit has passed, you can still make a claim to an employment tribunal. It’s up to the judge to decide whether they will accept your claim.

You can make a discrimination claim regardless of your employment status or how long you’ve worked for your employer.

Find out more about:

If you have to leave your job because of discrimination

If you feel you have to resign because of discrimination, this might be ‘constructive dismissal’. You might be able to make a claim to an employment tribunal.

Resigning from your job is a big step to take. You should consider this very carefully.

In most cases, you should give your employer a chance to resolve the problem before you consider leaving.

Find out more about constructive dismissal

Types of discrimination

There is detailed advice on the ACAS website about types of discrimination:

  • direct discrimination – less favourable treatment directly because of a protected characteristic
  • indirect discrimination – when everyone’s treated the same but people with a protected characteristic are put at a disadvantage
  • harassment – unwanted or offensive behaviour related to a protected characteristic
  • victimisation – negative treatment as a result of being involved with a discrimination or harassment complaint

Advice on protected characteristics from ACAS

Find out more about:

Get more advice and support

If you have any questions about discrimination, you can contact the:

You can find more detailed legal guidance on the Equality Act 2010 in the Employment: Statutory Code of Practice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Last Updated on May 7, 2026 by Ashford Advice