[They] preferred to be guided by certain eccentric principles of socialist philanthropy or by a feminist ambition to ensure gender equality on the issue of wages in the world of work. [4] The UK Equal Jobs Act or the Anti-Discrimination Act aims to ensure that workers are not treated unfairly or discriminated against in the workplace. In the UK Equality Act 2010, there are 9 `protected characteristics` or, in other words, groups of protected people who have rights under that Act. The United Kingdom`s Employment Equality Act is a set of laws that regulates bias-based actions in the workplace. As part of UK employment law, it is illegal to discriminate against a person because they have one of the “protected characteristics”, namely age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and partnership, race, religion or belief, sex, pregnancy and maternity, and sexual orientation. The main legislation is the Equality Act 2010, which prohibits discrimination in access to education, public services, private goods and services, transport or premises in addition to employment. This follows three major European Union directives and is complemented by other laws such as the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. In addition, discrimination on the basis of employment status as a part-time, fixed-term, agency or trade union worker is prohibited by a combination of legal instruments and by the Consolidated Trade Unions and Industrial Relations Act 1992, which in turn follows European law. Disputes are usually resolved in the workplace in consultation with an employer or union, or with the advice of a lawyer, ACAS or the Citizen Advice Office. The Gender Equality Act 2006 established the Equality and Human Rights Commission to strengthen the implementation of equality laws.

[1] Persons with a protected characteristic are protected from discrimination in employment and access to services, education, premises and associations. Examples of prohibited discrimination include being a client in the areas of social security, access to education and other public services. The UK Labour Government has codified and strengthened the different areas of protection in a single law, namely the Equality Act 2010. The law provides a legal framework to protect the rights of individuals and promote equal opportunities for all. Employers have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to protect workers from discrimination, harassment and victimization in the workplace. The aim is to promote a society of equal employment opportunities that includes people from different backgrounds. Whether you are an employer or an employee, it is important to know your rights under the Equality Act. As Britain`s national equality body, our work is driven by a simple belief: if everyone has a fair chance in life, we all thrive. 1. UK employment law is designed to protect and protect workers in the workplace and much of this includes the understanding of equality and protection from discrimination set out in the Equality Act 2010.

When discrimination cases are brought before the Labour Court, each case is examined individually and the employer`s actions are examined, i.e. whether they were appropriate in the circumstances, whether they disadvantaged a person with protected characteristics or whether they pursued a legitimate aim in their decision-making. More recently, two measures have been introduced, one of which has been proposed to prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of atypical work patterns for workers who are not considered to be open-ended. Part-time work and fixed-term workers have been partially introduced to close the gender pay gap. The reason for this is that women are much more likely to hold permanent non-full-time positions. However, following the Treaty of Amsterdam, a new Article 13 promises Community action for the general elimination of inequalities. The directive on defaulting temporary agency workers should be the third pillar of this programme. Discrimination against union members is also a serious problem, for the apparent reason that some employers view unionization as a threat to their right to run a business.

In another case, a woman was indirectly discriminated against on the basis of sex and received compensation of £185,000: the sales manager asked her employer if she could work fewer hours to pick up her child after returning from maternity leave from kindergarten, but was forced to quit her job when he refused to do so. Make this adjustment. The Labour Court found that the workplace had not reasonably contemplated flexible working hours that had put the employee at a disadvantage. Discrimination is illegal when an employer hires a person under the terms of the contract offered to make a decision regarding the termination of an employee or other type of injury. “Direct discrimination”, i.e. treatment less favourably of one person than another without the protected characteristic is always unjustified and illegal, with the exception of age. However, discrimination against a person on the basis of age is only permitted if there is a legitimate commercial justification accepted by a court. Where there is an “occupational requirement”, direct discrimination is allowed, so that an employer could, for example, refuse to hire a male actor for a female role in a play if it is essential to the job. “Indirect discrimination” is also illegal, and this is the case when an employer applies a workplace policy that affects everyone equally, but has different effects on a greater proportion of people in one group with a protected characteristic than another, and there is no good business justification for this practice. Disability differs from other protected characteristics in that employers are required to make appropriate adjustments to their workplace to accommodate employees with disabilities. With respect to age, creed, sex, race, gender change and sexuality, there is generally no positive obligation to promote equality, and affirmative action is generally limited by the principle that merit should be considered the most important characteristic of a person. In the area of equal pay for men and women, the rules differ as regards the scope of comparators.

Dismissal for discrimination is automatically unjustified and gives rise to claims under section 94 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, regardless of the length of employment. The Gender Equality Act covers a wide range of places and organizations. The Act applies to places that offer goods or services, and it also covers employment matters. This includes, for example, US labour law, which is often seen as less restrictive than its British counterpart. Indeed, the US discrimination law is very similar to the European model, and many British protections against discrimination have been modelled on their American counterparts. Equality legislation in the UK, which was previously the subject of separate laws and regulations for each protected characteristic, is now found primarily in the Equality Act 2010. Especially since the United Kingdom`s accession to the social chapter of the European Union treaties reflects a number of EU directives. The three main Directives are the Equal Treatment Directive (Directive 2006/54/EC on equality between women and men), the Racial Equality Directive (2000/48/EC) and the Directive establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation (2000/78/EC on religion, belief, , sexuality, disability and age). The specific tasks require public sector bodies to publish relevant and proportionate information demonstrating compliance with the obligation to equality between women and men and to set gender equality targets. A good way to ensure compliance with anti-discrimination laws is to use a holding company. The holding company has overall responsibility for compliance with local labour laws, including those set out in the Equality Act 2010. Despite the huge similarities between discrimination protection in the US and the UK, US employers in the UK may face difficulties due to the procedural nature of some employment protections in the UK.