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Employment Law - Discrimination Claims
Complaints for discrimination are on the increase. It is not an easy
area of law to understand. There can be costly results if a claim
is successful.
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Types of Discrimination
The current law provides that employees must not be discriminated
against on grounds of sex or marital status, race or ethnic
origin, disability, trade union membership, sexual orientation,
religion, belief or age.
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Main Forms of Discrimination
Discrimination comes in two main forms – direct and indirect.
Direct discrimination occurs where the
employer treats a job applicant or existing employee less favourably
on the ground of their sex, race, disability, age, religion or belief. The applicable
test in law is to apply a comparator who will be of the opposite
sex or alternative racial group. The question is whether or
not the applicant would have been treated differently and more
favourably had it not been for their age, religion, sex etc.
Indirect discrimination occurs when
4 conditions are satisfied: |
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- The employer imposes a condition which applies
to all sexes, or races, or ages, or religion, or belief
- The proportion of the complainant’s
group who can comply with the
requirement/condition is considerably smaller than the proportion
of the other group which can comply
- The requirement is not justifiable
- It is to the complainant’s detriment
that they cannot comply
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The law requires a pool of comparators
to determine if any discrimination has taken place.
Disability Discrimination relies on the same
basic principles but the complainant must be treated less
favourably due to their disability. A person suffers from
a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment,
which has a substantial and long-term effect on their ability
to carry out normal everyday activities. |
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Procedure and Awards for Discrimination
Complainants have 3 months to present a claim to an Employment
Tribunal. The time period starts to run from the act complained
of or, a series of acts, the last of these acts.
The current awards for a successful case of discrimination
are unlimited. The limits applicable to unfair dismissal claims
do not apply to Discrimination claims.
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