Introduction

You might find yourself in situations where you are treated less favourably than others because of who you are or because you possess certain protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation). Discrimination occurs if one or more of these protected characteristics is unlawful (under the Equality Act 2010).

 

You’re protected from discrimination:

• At work;
• At a place of education (e.g., school, university);
• When you use public services (e.g., bus, train);
• When you purchase or rent property;
• In connection with actions by government departments, local authorities and care providers (e.g., hospitals and care homes); and
• As a consumer in the provision of goods/services by businesses and organisations.

 

You’re also protected from discrimination if you are in a relationship with somebody who has a protected characteristic, this is called ‘discrimination by association’, or if you are treated unfairly because you’ve made discrimination complaints or supported someone else’s claim and rights. Rules might also differ depending on the types of discrimination (e.g., direct or indirect discrimination, harassment or victimisation) you have faced.

 

Does the person understand that they are being discriminatory?

Before considering whether you have been discriminated against, please take a moment to think if the term was meant with any malice. it may just be their nature or ignorance, or they may have thought that it was not offensive.

 

Consider - a shop assistant is 6 foot plus and his nickname was “stepladder”, this was because at the shop he worked in he didn’t need a stepladder to reach the tallest shelves – is this discrimination?

 

True stories were written by the owner of Lestons

• Mr Perkins is an old Londoner in his mid-70s and was my marketing manager at my previous place of employment. When I recruited him a young female secretary, I informed her he would most likely call her “sweetheart” or “darling”, this was viewed with concern, during her probationary follow-up meeting I asked her about it – her response “He calls everyone, (by the way this included me - a man in his mid-50s) sweetheart, it’s quite nice really”, it’s a term of endearment (by the way she openly called him “Grandad”), in short, it was office banter. They soon developed a mutually fantastic working relationship and are still in touch after she left the company many years ago.
• I was having lunch with a coloured friend and accidentally called him “Black”, I immediately apologised as the term is racist. He countered by simply correcting me with “what`s the problem – I am Black”, he then asked me if I would be offended being called “tall” (I am), obviously not. He explained that simply referring to a physical characteristic in his view is not racist, just descriptive (and it wasn’t meant with any malice).

 

In short how someone feels determines what they class as “discrimination”, in effect it simply depends on if a person takes offence by the designation and how it is meant. You are also protected from discrimination If you are in a relationship with somebody who has a protected characteristic, for example, a family member or friend, and because of this you are not treated favourably. (This is called ‘discrimination by association) or if you are treated unfairly because you’ve made discrimination complaints or supported someone else’s claim and rights.

 

If you feel you are the subject of discrimination then we politely suggest that you keep a diary of events while you consider your next move. Depending on the situation the matter can be resolved in many different ways, for instance how you deal with the matter, for instance:

• If an individual (colleague, friend) a friendly chat may suffice
• If a co-worker then you could complain via your manager
• If a member of a council handling a claim for you then a complaint to standards board;
• If a police officer, then you should initially bring the matter to their senior officer

 

Additionally, you could contact the Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS) on 0808 800 0082 to get advice and information on discrimination.

 

How we can help

On the assumption that you have made an attempt to politely remedy the situation then you may well need to give then a reminder of their legal standing, this is obviously where we come in. To gain our assistance you need to open a case, this is done by taking advantage of our free consultation service, activated by the link at the top of the page, should you wish to start a case the caseworker will send you the suitable payment link.

 

At Lestons we have dedicated experts who are familiar with discrimination cases, your caseworker will appoint such a specialist to work with you. Please note your caseworker can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our legal team and to act as your point of contact, they will also issue you with your Password and PIN, these will be needed to log onto your client dashboard. From your dashboard you will be able to manage and view every aspect of your case, upload documents, images, files etc.