What is the difference between direct and indirect discrimination?
There is an important difference between direct and indirect discrimination that lots of people don’t know about. It is illegal to separate people and go against people who have protected characteristics, this would mean you are acting differently with someone because they have certain attributes.
What are indirect and direct discrimination?
Direct discrimination
Direct discrimination is when you aren’t treated the same as another person or other people because you have either a protected characteristic, somebody thinks you have that protected characteristics or you are connected to someone with that protected characteristic.
Your circumstances would be similar to the person getting treated in a better way for the discrimination complaint to be made.
Is there any protection when it comes to direct discrimination?
When dealing with any discrimination it can be horrible and make you feel very unwanted and uncomfortable. With direct discrimination, the law simply looks at the end effect of actions. Therefore, there is no argument from an employer or another individual that it was not their intention to discriminate.
On the base of age, companies may have an objective justification defence if they give elder employees a better redundancy contract as this would replicate the added difficulties elder workers have to face when losing their job.
Indirect discrimination
Indirect discrimination occurs when there is a rule that goes for everyone in the same way but disadvantages a group of people who share the same protected characteristic and they are all disadvantaged as part of a group. A policy can include practice, rule or arrangement. It can be more difficult to spot indirect discrimination; many people experience it but don’t speak out because they don’t actually realise that they are being discriminated against.
Protected characteristics contain – age, disability, health, gender reassignment, sexual preference, pregnant, race, and beliefs.
Objective justification for indirect discrimination
Ultimately, a neutral policy cannot harm a protected characteristic and workplaces must adjust their polices to ensure this. In certain circumstances, indirect discrimination might not be illegal if a company can demonstrate that there is an objective explanation for the rule, process or procedure in question. The employer will be required to show that the rule, process or procedure is relevant and is a necessary statement to have within the business.
What is meant by less favourable treatment?
This is behaviour meaning your being treated dissimilarly to somebody who doesn’t have the same characteristics as you and you are therefore being treated worse due to that fact.
Discrimination at work. What should you do?
Employees should talk to their employer first to try and sort out the problem informally. If things can’t be resolved informally then taking things higher up within the company and to HR would be appropriate, if the issue is still being glossed over then it would be time to take legal action and get advice from a professional.
We hope that you enjoy reading our blog and this has helped you differentiate between indirect and direct discrimination. If you have any questions or need assistance on discrimination legal advice, you can consult a reputable Law firm who would be able to help you solve any legal issues you may have.
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