Discounting Disability-Related Sickness Absence
When an employee takes too much time off sick, you would usually follow your organisation’s disciplinary procedure, issuing warnings and, if attendance doesn’t improve, potentially dismissing them for incapacity. But while ill-health incapacity is potentially a fair reason for dismissal, employers must also ensure they are not unlawfully discriminating against someone on the grounds of […]
Discrimination at Work
Unlawful discrimination at work can have serious implications for an organisation, even if this is unintentional. Workplace discrimination claims typically result in high awards of damages against employers. Equally, discriminatory conduct in the workplace can easily lead to conflict, tainting working relationships and fostering a negative working environment and damaging the employer brand. As an […]
Sex Discrimination at Work: Employer Guide
Sex discrimination refers to when someone is unfairly disadvantaged in the workplace because of their gender. Most sex discrimination is directed towards women, but it is equally unlawful to discriminate against a man because of his gender. Sex discrimination remains a common workplace issue, as can be seen by the number and type of employment […]
Disability Discrimination: Overview for Employers
It is unlawful to discriminate against an individual in the workplace by reason of disability. Discrimination issues typically relate to flawed or inconsistent organisational policies, procedures or practices that have failed to accommodate people’s physical or mental impairments as required by law. Understanding and recognising different types of disability discrimination can help employers take a […]
Equal Pay Law: Employers’ Guide
Equality of pay remains an ongoing source of dispute and complaints in the workplace. Understanding the employment rights of their workforce, including the law on equal pay between men and women, forms an important part of an employer’s obligations. The following guide for employers looks at what the law says about equal pay, in this […]
Perceptive Discrimination at Work
In the UK, it is unlawful to treat someone less favourably than someone else at work because of certain protected characteristics, such as their age, sex, disability, race or religion. This includes treating someone unfairly because of a perception that they possess a particular characteristic. The following guide for employers outlines the law relating to […]
Sexual Orientation Discrimination: A Guide
Sexual orientation is one of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. The Act protects lesbian, gay and bisexual people from direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation at work. These rules also apply to anyone who is perceived to be lesbian, gay or bisexual or experiences discrimination because they associate with gay people. These […]
Objective Justification (Discrimination Defence?)
As an employer, you are under a duty not to discriminate against someone unlawfully, including both workers and job applicants. That said, the law recognises that there may be circumstances where an employer has good reason to justify treating someone less favourably, or causing disadvantage to a particular group of people. Known as objective justification, […]
Associative Discrimination Guide for Employers
It is unlawful to treat someone unfairly in the workplace because they possess a protected characteristic, such as age, disability, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, race or religion, including if they associate with someone who possesses a particular characteristic. The following practical guide for employers on associative discrimination looks at what this is and when protection […]