Sex Discrimination Solicitors

The Equality Act 2010 covers all “employment” and applies to apprentices, workers, employees and applicants for work. Ex-employees/workers are also protected from discrimination by a former employer.  

The organisation concerned is generally liable for acts of discrimination; however, individuals may also be personally liable.  

Where a Tribunal finds that a claim is well founded, it can order the employer to pay compensation for financial losses, injury to feelings, personal injury damages and, in extreme cases, aggravated damages. Injury to feelings compensation is awarded according to the severity of the discrimination and the extent of hurt feelings and is separated into lower, middle and higher bands. 

The tribunal can also recommend that the employer takes specified steps to remove or reduce the adverse effects of the discrimination on the Claimant (make a “recommendation”). 

If you think you have been discriminated against, you might be entitled to compensation but the appropriate value can be difficult to assess.   

Establishing that discrimination occurred is not straightforward. Sufficient evidence must be provided to enable a tribunal to conclude it is more likely than not you were discriminated against by the employer. 

There will need to be some factual basis upon which the tribunal can make its findings. It therefore helps if you can produce relevant letters or documents that evidence the discrimination or tend to show that it was likely to have occurred. It is also useful to make a note of the key incidents and the dates on which they took place and where discriminatory comments have been made, the precise words used. 

If you feel that you may have been discriminated against, please contact us.

This occurs when an employer treats a worker less favourably because of their sex.  

It is therefore necessary to identify a comparator who hasn’t been treated in the same way and who is of the opposite sex.  

This type of discrimination cannot be justified under any circumstances. 

This arises when an employer applies a “provision, criterion or practice” (such as a policy) which is not intended to treat anyone less favourably, but which in practice has the effect of disadvantaging people of a particular sex. For example, a requirement to work full time might impact more women than men. 

An employer must not have selection criteria, policies, employment rules or any other practices that, whilst apparently neutral on the face of them, have the effect of disadvantaging employees or job applicants of a certain sex. 

Employers can only defend indirect discrimination if they can show they can justify the provision, criterion or practice as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.  

A person harasses another if they engage in unwanted conduct related to sex with the purpose or effect of violating someone’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. 

Examples include sexist comments, which offend that person or make them feel humiliated. 

Some workers may be deterred from exercising their rights under the Act or from supporting others who wish to exercise their rights because they fear they will be victimised by their employer. 

The Act, in summary, protects workers who make a complaint of discrimination from being treated badly (subjected to a detriment) because they have complained.