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Discrimination

What is discrimination?

Put simply, discrimination is less-favourable treatment. However, it must be appreciated that discrimination is only unlawful if it is on one of the grounds that Parliament has legislated to be unlawful. These are:

● Gender (including maternity/pregnancy and marital status)

● Race (including national origins)

● Religion or faith

● Age

● Disability

● Sexual orientation

● Gender change

● Part-time status, or being on a fixed-term contract

● To a limited extent, being an agency worker

Thus it can be seen that an employer is not unlawfully discriminating against you if he/she subjects you to less favourable treatment simply because of not liking you. However, such treatment may well infringe other rights you may have. Further, there is no automatic right in law to be paid the same rate for doing exactly the same job as the person sitting next to you, if the employer chooses to pay you less. This would only be unlawfully discriminatory if the employer's reason is on one of the above grounds, or the effect of the lower pay falls into one of those grounds (e.g. if you are female and that higher-paid person is a man, or vice versa).

Discrimination can be a very complicated area of law. For most categories, a person who believes that their employer has unlawfully discriminated against them would have to show a more favourably-treated comparator. Claims can be complex to run, and should not be embarked upon without taking qualified legal advice. Which? Legal Service can advise you on all aspects of discrimination and on the procedure for bringing and running a claim.