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If you’ve encountered a hard time at work, you could possibly feel that you’ve been discriminated against. What exactly qualifies as workplace discrimination? For an incident to be classed as ” workplace discrimination” the incident needs to concern one of the protected characteristics. An employer may not discriminate based on the following:

Age, Disability, Marriage and civil partnership, Pregnancy and maternity, Religion and belief, Sexual orientation, Gender, Race, Gender reassignment

Discrimination can often occur unintentionally. By way of example, there maybe a promotion which is only suitable for people who possess a certain characteristic like physical abilities which are specific to younger people. If lifting or heavy physical activity is an absolute requirement for the position, and it is not possible for the company to make accommodations for individuals that are not physically able to do the job, then it is not discrimination to exclude others.

Similarly, if there are rules at work that put an employee at a disadvantage because of a protected characteristic, this is considered discrimination. An example may be a necessity to work on Sundays, when certain people are unable to work on Sunday owing to religious commitments.

Different types of discrimination:

Direct discrimination happens when an employer treats a worker in a difference way than another individual as a result of them possessing a protected characteristic. For example, it would be categorised as direct discrimination if a driving job was just offered to male job seekers.

Indirect discrimination happens when a working condition or rule disadvantages one lot of people more than another. For instance, saying that candidates for a job opportunity must be clean shaven puts people of several religious groups at a disadvantage.

Harassment happens when someone is embarrassed, intimidated, or humiliated because they possess a characteristic that is protected. This can be sexual harassment, or possibly an older employee getting called names associated to their age, inappropriate racial gestures, or obscene jokes.

Victimisation might be when someone is treated poorly at work because they’ve raised a complaint about discrimination or they are trying to help an individual who’s been discriminated against. It is a sort of discrimination in itself.

If you think that you may have been discriminated against in the workplace, what are your rights? To start with, you can file a grievance with a person holding a high status within the organization. This might help remedy the matter with no legal action being required. Nevertheless, if you feel that you are not being taken seriously in the workplace, you have the right to file a lawsuit against the particular person who has made you feel discriminated against.

Just before taking legal action, it may be wise to speak to the individual in question but only if you feel comfortable doing so. Often, individuals are not aware that their comments or activities are offensive to other individuals. If you do not feel you can directly talk to the person, your place of work might have a policy in position so you can have a mediator help you to deal with difficulties without the use of legal action.

360 diversity is an online diversity forum and reference point that can be successfully utilized for promoting equality and diversity at work and providing help with employment law. It’s open to private, public and third sector employers throughout the UK. For further info visit www.360diversity.com.