Sex, race, age and disability discrimination

To treat an employee in a different way to another member of staff as a result of that person's sex, race, age or disability is unlawful. The alleged victim may bring a claim against you, either whilst they are still an employee or after they have left.

These areas are something of a legal minefield. There can be liability for "indirect" as well as direct discrimination. For example, it may be that if an employer has a redundancy policy of "last in, first out", it may be that the policy indirectly discriminates against female staff (it is recognised that women tend to change jobs more often than men) and if, as a result, more females lose their job than otherwise might have been the case, the employee may face a raft of sex discrimination claims.

Finally, employers should note that they can be vicariously liable for the acts of discrimination in the workplace by other members of their staff and, therefore, it could be their employees who get employers into trouble. We would suggest that a sensible action would be to introduce and enforce policies and procedures such as "respect at work" and the like along with equal opportunities policies whilst making sure that staff are aware of these and trained appropriately. Temple Heelis can assist you in drawing up appropriate policies.

Are you ready for the impact of the Equality Act 2010?

In the first instance, please contact Richard Moore or John Sim at our Kendal office on 01539 723 757.
Alternatively, use our Call Me Back facility and we will contact you at a time that is convenient for you.

Temple Heelis LLP have supported businesses with their employment law related matters throughout Cumbria (Kendal, Barrow, Carlisle, Penrith) and North Lancashire (Lancaster, Morecambe, Preston).