Direct discrimination at work

Did you know that direct discrimination at work can occur as early as the interview stage in employment? Whether intentional or not, discriminating against employees or candidates can lead to tribunal claims, damaging your companies’ reputation, and demotivating staff.

Direct discrimination is outlined by the Equality Act 2010, which includes certain things called ‘protected characteristics’, which means an employee cannot be treated differently  if they have one of these. Making sure that your business is regularly preventing less favourable treatment towards certain individuals will have a positive impact on your organisation and workforce. Employees greatly benefit from an inclusive and supportive work environment which will ultimately boost their motivation and increase retention. 

Firstly, you should start with a solid equality and diversity policy that empowers your staff to apply through their day to day life. If you need more information about discrimination and how to recognise and prevent it, our expert team at Croner are ready and waiting to take your call on 0808 501 6651.  

• Direct discrimination at work examples
• What is the difference between direct and indirect discrimination?
• Further considerations on how direct discrimination occurs

What is direct discrimination?

Direct discrimination is when an individual receives less favourable treatment due to one or more of the nine protected characteristics. These include:

1. Age
2. Disability
3. Gender reassignment
4. Marriage and civil partnership
5. Pregnancy and maternity
6. Race
7. Religion or belief
8. Sex
9. Sexual orientation

If a person receives unlawful treatment aimed at these traits, they have grounds to make a discrimination claim, which could then lead to an employment tribunal. When the claim is considered, evidence will be upheld that shows less favourable treatment, regardless of intention or lack of it. So, saying that the employer ‘did not mean’ to discriminate is not a lawful defence and will likely result in charges being brought against you.

Employers have a towards staff’s wellbeing at work. This includes protecting them against unfair, unlawful treatment from a colleague, such as discrimination.  Don’t dismiss any concerns or grievances just because, as a business leader, you apply solid workplace policies. Make sure all your employees understand and follow your workplace policies and regularly carry out training to refresh their knowledge on these. You should also encourage employees to speak up if they have noticed signs of discrimination.

Don’t forget that Croner offer expert workplace mediation services that can support an impartial, balanced approach to resolve conflicts between employees. This could spare you the hassle and costs of further escalation.

So, how do you identify and tackle unlawful treatment within your team? Examples that could commonly occur can help us to understand what we should be looking out for.

Direct discrimination at work examples

From first identifying discriminatory behaviours and practices, you can quickly address them and minimise damage. Remember that not all unfair treatment within the workplace will amount to discrimination, but you should assess each situation on a case-by-case basis. You should check if the treatment is targeting one of the nine protected characteristics previously mentioned.

Below are some examples of direct discrimination for each of the protected characteristics:

Age discrimination

An employer who caps pay for employees in their early 20s, because of their age, disregarding skills and performance, is discriminating against them.

Disability discrimination

When a line manager refuses regular breaks that a disabled person requires for health reasons, this amounts to discrimination.

Gender reassignment

If colleagues exclude a transgender person from work social events, they are discriminating against this individual.

Marriage and civil partnership

Dismissing an employee because they have got married to another member of staff amounts to unlawful treatment.

Pregnancy and maternity

If an employer makes a pregnant employee redundant because of their pregnancy, they discriminate against her.

Racial discrimination

Paying a group of employees more due to their ethnicity over another group with a different nationality is discrimination.  

Religious discrimination

Refusing a Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist person's annual leave for an important religious holiday, while allowing it for Christian holidays like Christmas, amounts to dismissing a protective trait and is classed as discrimination.

Sex discrimination

A transport company is directly discriminating against women if they show patterns of preferring to hire men to drive their lorries.

Sexual orientation discrimination

Asking an employee to not disclose that they are gay or bisexual to their colleagues amounts to direct discrimination.

What is the difference between direct and indirect discrimination?

The best way to distinguish between the two types of discrimination, direct and indirect, is by how it occurs:

• Direct discrimination at work happens when an individual or group receives less favourable treatment due to protected characteristics.
• Indirect discrimination at work happens when a rule, policy or procedure places a person or a group at a disadvantage.

You need to prioritise identifying both types of improper treatment as soon as they occur. Then, you should apply measures to deal with any situation that places staff members at a disadvantage.

Both direct and indirect discrimination in employment can bring serious damage to reputation and workplace trust. Employers need to remember that staff members might discriminate against each other, so they should be vigilant to any perceived workplace conflicts. Failing to identify unlawful behaviour can land your business in hot water from a legal standpoint.

Further considerations on how direct discrimination occurs

It is worth noting that discrimination also happens by association with a person with protected characteristics. For example, an employee who doesn’t come from an ethnic minority background can be the victim of discrimination if they face poor treatment   because of a workplace friendship with a colleague of differing ethnicity.

A more subtle example refers to the parent of a disabled child. If their employer dismisses them because they have caring responsibilities for a disabled child, it becomes a case of discrimination.

You also need to consider direct discrimination by perception. This refers to a situation where, for example, a staff member perceived as disabled gets targeted and discriminated against by being treated less favourably. For instance, colleagues might think this person is autistic, when in fact they just have a reserved and shy personality. If they decide to exclude this person because of their perceived autism, they directly discriminate against them.

Get expert support from Croner

Even if you have policies in place to protect your staff from unlawful treatment, that doesn’t eliminate the risk of wrongful perceptions and behaviours. Dealing with discrimination claims, whether founded or unfounded, could lead to a tribunal claim if not handled correctly.

Croner are here to support you. Our experienced HR advisors can advise you on every aspect of HR best-practice to ensure you to find the best HR solution for your business.

Call us today on 0808 501 6651.