Discrimination at Work: The Equality Act and Your Rights

Data last checked on 8 October 2026.

Checked against Acas, the Labour Relations Agency, the judiciary and other official sources. Edited by Steven Butler.

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Discrimination means treating someone less favourably than someone else because of a protected characteristic, and the Equality Act 2010 makes it against the law. At work the Equality Act 2010 protects anyone who works for an employer, contractors and self-employed people hired to personally do the work, job applicants and former workers. This guide covers the types, reasonable adjustments, what to do and what a tribunal can award.

Key points

✓The Equality Act 2010 lists nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
✓Acas says you can make a discrimination claim regardless of your employment status or how long you have worked for your employer.
✓You do not need a medical diagnosis to have a disability, as long as you can still show a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out day-to-day activities.
✓The Home Office tells employers that if a discrimination claim is upheld, the tribunal will normally order the employer to pay compensation, for which there is no upper limit.
✓Acas says the time limit starts from the most recent date of discrimination you are including in your claim: 6 months minus 1 day if the problem happened on or after 1 October 2026, and 3 months minus 1 day for most claims if it happened before.

The 9 protected characteristics

The Equality Act 2010 lists nine protected characteristics:

Age

Disability

Gender reassignment

Marriage & civil partnership

Pregnancy & maternity

Race

Religion or belief

Sex

Sexual orientation

Anyone can bring a claim: age discrimination can happen to people of any age, and sex discrimination can happen to both men and women.

You are also protected from direct discrimination if you are treated worse because of your connection with someone who has a protected characteristic, or because someone thinks you have one when you do not, but neither applies to marriage and civil partnership or pregnancy and maternity.

Two things people often assume are covered are not on the list:

No: Political belief is not one of the nine protected characteristics listed in section 4 of the Equality Act 2010.
No: Being a carer is not one of the nine protected characteristics listed in section 4 of the Equality Act 2010.

Our protected characteristics guide explains what each one means and who it covers.

Northern Ireland: The Equality Act 2010 does not apply to Northern Ireland, where nidirect lists separate laws against discrimination on grounds that include religion or political opinion.

Types of discrimination

There are four types of discrimination: direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation.

Direct discrimination

Direct discrimination is treating someone with a protected characteristic less favourably than others. In an Acas example, an employer rejects a woman for a farm machinery job because it thinks men have better technical skills and more credibility with customers, which is direct discrimination because of sex.

Indirect discrimination

Indirect discrimination is when a working practice, policy or rule is the same for everyone but has a worse effect on someone because of a protected characteristic. Acas lists dress codes, selection criteria in recruitment, the way employees are selected for redundancy, working hours, and policies on ways of working such as flexible working or working from home among the working practices that can be indirect discrimination. An employer can defend indirect discrimination if it shows the rule or practice is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Harassment

Conduct is harassment under section 26 if it is unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic that has the purpose or effect of violating your dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for you; Acas says it can be harassment even if it was not intended, and unwanted behaviour can include jokes, pranks and mimicry. Unwanted conduct of a sexual nature is also harassment, and Acas says sexual harassment does not need to be related to a protected characteristic.

Victimisation

Victimisation means being treated unfairly because you were involved with a discrimination or harassment complaint, for example by making a complaint or supporting someone else's complaint.

Disability only

Two types of discrimination apply to disability alone: discrimination arising from disability and failure to make reasonable adjustments. Both are covered in the next section.

The four types of discrimination do not all apply to every protected characteristic: indirect discrimination excludes pregnancy and maternity, and harassment related to a protected characteristic excludes marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity.

From 30 October 2026 the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes the law on third party harassment: employers will be liable if a third party harasses a worker, unless they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent it.

The law protects you against discrimination at work, including in dismissal, employment terms and conditions, pay and benefits, promotion and transfer opportunities, training, recruitment and redundancy.

Employers can be held responsible for the actions of their workers, which Acas calls vicarious liability, and discrimination complaints and employment tribunal claims can be made against individuals as well as employers.

Disability discrimination, reasonable adjustments

Reasonable adjustments are changes an employer makes to remove or reduce a disadvantage related to disability. Employers must make them by law, because it is not enough for them to provide disabled people with exactly the same working conditions as non-disabled people.

The duty covers a provision, criterion or practice, a physical feature and an auxiliary aid: where one puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage compared with people who are not disabled, the employer must take the steps it is reasonable to have to take to avoid the disadvantage or provide the aid. A failure to comply with the duty is discrimination.

Acas says employers must make reasonable adjustments when:

Yes: they know, or could reasonably be expected to know, someone is disabled
Yes: a disabled staff member or job applicant asks for adjustments
Yes: someone who is disabled is having difficulty with any part of their job
Yes: someone's absence record, sickness record or delay in returning to work is because of, or linked to, their disability

An employer is not subject to the duty if it does not know, and could not reasonably be expected to know, that an interested disabled person has a disability and is likely to be placed at the disadvantage.

What is reasonable depends on each situation. Acas says the employer must consider carefully whether the adjustment will remove or reduce the disadvantage, is practical, is affordable and could harm the health and safety of others, and that the employer does not have to change the basic nature of the job. An employer does not have to make adjustments that are unreasonable, but Acas says they should still find other ways to support the disabled person.

Acas gives these examples of reasonable adjustments:

Yes: changing someone's working patterns
Yes: flexible working, including home or hybrid working
Yes: a phased return to work after absence
Yes: paid time off for medical appointments and treatment
Yes: providing extra or adapted equipment, such as chairs, computer software and phones
Yes: providing emails and documents in an accessible format
Yes: giving someone more time to do written or reading tests that are part of an interview

An employer subject to the duty cannot require the disabled person to pay any of the costs of complying with it, unless the Act says otherwise. Access to Work is a government scheme that helps people with a physical or mental health condition or disability to get or stay in work, but Acas says it is not a substitute for the employer's legal obligation to make reasonable adjustments or pay for them.

If someone does not get the reasonable adjustments they need, Acas says they could make a claim to an employment tribunal. Our reasonable adjustments guide covers how to ask for them, and our disability discrimination guide covers the other types.

Discrimination arising from disability is unfavourable treatment because of something that results from your disability, for example absence from work because of regular hospital appointments, unless the employer can show the treatment is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. It does not apply if the employer shows it did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, that you had the disability.

Do you count as disabled under the Act? You have a disability under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. GOV.UK says substantial is more than minor or trivial. For the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability, an impairment's effect is long-term if it has lasted, or is likely to last, at least 12 months, or is likely to last for the rest of the person's life. You do not need a medical diagnosis, as long as you can still show a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out day-to-day activities. Acas says poor mental health can amount to a disability, and being neurodivergent, including ADHD, autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia, will often amount to one. The law says to discount the effects of any medication, aids or treatment when considering whether someone has a disability, except for glasses or contact lenses. You are covered from the day you are diagnosed with cancer, HIV infection or multiple sclerosis, and Acas also lists a visual impairment if you are certified as blind, severely sight impaired, sight impaired or partially sighted.

What to do if you're being discriminated against

Keep a record

Acas says it is a good idea to keep a diary or record of what happened, how it made you feel, the dates and times, any evidence such as emails or screenshots of social media posts, and any witnesses.

Raise it informally first

Acas says it is usually best to raise the problem informally first. GOV.UK says employees should talk to their employer first to try and sort out the problem informally, and if it cannot be sorted out informally to talk to Acas, Citizens Advice or a trade union representative.

Submit a formal grievance

Acas says you can raise a grievance if you have already tried to resolve things informally but it did not work or you feel the situation is too serious to be resolved informally. Acas also says it is best to make a complaint as soon as possible, and that it can be a good idea to use a question and answer process, which includes sending your employer a statement explaining what happened and asking them any questions you might have.

Get advice

The Acas helpline number is 0300 123 1100. GOV.UK points to the Equality Advisory Support Service for help and advice with discrimination.

Early conciliation with Acas

Before you make a claim to an employment tribunal you must tell Acas, which will offer early conciliation that is voluntary, and if it does not work or you choose not to take part Acas will send you an early conciliation certificate. You will usually need an early conciliation certificate for each respondent before you make a claim. The time limit for making a claim is put on hold while Acas helps you resolve your dispute. After receiving the certificate, you have at least one month left to submit your claim.

Employment tribunal claim

Acas says the time limit starts from the most recent date of discrimination you are including in your claim. It is 6 months minus 1 day if the problem happened on or after 1 October 2026, and 3 months minus 1 day for most claims if it happened before. If your time limit has passed, Acas says you can still make a claim, but it is up to the judge to decide whether they will accept it, and in most cases time limits are strictly enforced. Section 123 allows proceedings to be brought after the end of 6 months starting with the date of the act if the employment tribunal thinks another period is just and equitable.

Raising the problem with your employer first does not stop the clock. Acas says that if you raise the problem with your employer first, this does not change the time limits to make an employment tribunal claim. Under section 123, conduct extending over a period is treated as done at the end of the period.

If you feel you have to resign because of discrimination, Acas says this might be constructive dismissal and you might be able to make a claim to an employment tribunal. Our constructive dismissal guide explains the test, and our employment tribunal guide explains the claim itself.

Compensation for discrimination

If an employment tribunal finds a contravention it may:

Yes: make a declaration as to the rights of the claimant and the respondent
Yes: order the respondent to pay compensation
Yes: make an appropriate recommendation

The amount of compensation a tribunal can award corresponds to the amount a county court or the sheriff could award. The Home Office tells employers that if a discrimination claim is upheld, the tribunal will normally order the employer to pay compensation, for which there is no upper limit.

A county court award of damages may include compensation for injured feelings, whether or not it includes compensation on any other basis. For claims presented on or after 6 April 2026, the Vento bands for injury to feelings are as follows, with the most exceptional cases capable of exceeding £62,900.

Band	Injury to feelings award	Cases it is for
Lower band	£1,300 to £12,600	Less serious cases
Middle band	£12,600 to £37,700	Cases that do not merit an award in the upper band
Upper band	£37,700 to £62,900	The most serious cases

An appropriate recommendation is that within a specified period the respondent takes specified steps to obviate or reduce the adverse effect on the claimant, and if the respondent fails without reasonable excuse to comply the tribunal may increase the compensation or, if none was ordered, make an order.

Where a discrimination claim by an employee concerns a matter to which a relevant Code of Practice applies and the employer has unreasonably failed to comply with it, the tribunal may, if it considers it just and equitable, increase any award by no more than 25%. A relevant Code of Practice is one that relates exclusively or primarily to procedure for the resolution of disputes.

Where to go next

Frequently asked questions

What are the 9 protected characteristics in UK law?

The Equality Act 2010 lists nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Acas says you can make a discrimination claim regardless of your employment status or how long you have worked for your employer.

What is the difference between direct and indirect discrimination?

Direct discrimination is treating someone with a protected characteristic less favourably than others. Indirect discrimination is when a working practice, policy or rule is the same for everyone but has a worse effect on someone because of a protected characteristic. An employer can defend indirect discrimination if it shows the rule or practice is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Is there a cap on discrimination compensation?

The Home Office tells employers that if a discrimination claim is upheld, the tribunal will normally order the employer to pay compensation, for which there is no upper limit. For claims presented on or after 6 April 2026, the Vento bands for injury to feelings run from £1,300 to £12,600 for less serious cases, £12,600 to £37,700 for the middle band and £37,700 to £62,900 for the most serious cases, with the most exceptional cases capable of exceeding £62,900.

What is a reasonable adjustment?

Reasonable adjustments are changes an employer makes to remove or reduce a disadvantage related to disability. What is reasonable depends on each situation. Acas says the employer must consider carefully whether the adjustment will remove or reduce the disadvantage, is practical, is affordable and could harm the health and safety of others.

How long do I have to bring a discrimination claim?

Acas says the time limit starts from the most recent date of discrimination you are including in your claim. It is 6 months minus 1 day if the problem happened on or after 1 October 2026, and 3 months minus 1 day for most claims if it happened before. Before you make a claim to an employment tribunal you must tell Acas. If your time limit has passed, you can still make a claim, but it is up to the judge to decide whether they will accept it.

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Know Your Rights UK. "Discrimination at Work: The Equality Act and Your Rights." Know Your Rights UK, https://www.knowyourrightsuk.com/employment/discrimination