Discrimination

Under current legislation it is unlawful to discriminate against you on the grounds of your:

• Race;
• Sex;
• Disability;
• Sexual Orientation (real or perceived);
• Religion or Belief (real or perceived);
• Age.

Discrimination can take one of the following forms:

• You are deliberately treated differently because you are…….. (male, female, disabled, etc);
• Your employer has a rule or condition which seems to detrimentally affect a particular group (e.g. women, ethnic minorities, etc);
• You are being harassed or victimised because you are……. (black, white, pregnant, etc);
• You are being harassed or victimised because you have raised an issue of discrimination, or have supported another individual who has done so.

If you think you are being discriminated against then you should keep a diary of all of the things that are happening to you. This should record names, dates, times, witnesses and what happened.

Before you can lodge a claim to the Employment Tribunal you would normally been expected to raise a formal statutory grievance with your employer. If you fail to do this then your claim to the Tribunal may be rejected.

Employment Tribunal claims must be made within 3 months of the last act of discrimination that you have suffered. You can take a claim whilst you are still employed – you do not have to leave.

This is a specialist area of law. It is essential that you take advice from an Employment Specialist in order to protect your position. If you elect to take a claim to the Employment Tribunal for discrimination we would always recommend that you engage the services of a professional specialist representative.

If you think you are being discriminated against, or simply want more information, then please follow the 'Ask the Experts' link, complete the form and submit it to us. We will respond to you within 2 working days. If your enquiry is more urgent than that, please ring us on the number below.