Protected Characteristics Under the Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 consolidates and strengthens decades of UK anti-discrimination law. It identifies nine protected characteristics — the personal attributes around which unlawful discrimination most commonly occurs. If you are treated unfairly at work because of any of these characteristics, you have legal recourse through your employer's grievance process and, ultimately, the Employment Tribunal.

The nine protected characteristics are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

• ✓Protection applies to employees, workers, job applicants, apprentices, and in some cases self-employed contractors who personally perform work
• ✓There is no minimum length of service required — discrimination rights apply from day one (including at the recruitment stage)
• ✓Anyone can be discriminated against on any of these grounds — not just members of a minority group. A man can bring a sex discrimination claim; a Christian can bring a religion claim; a young person can bring an age discrimination claim
• ✓Protection covers four main types of discrimination: direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, and victimisation
• ✓For disability only, two additional types also apply: failure to make reasonable adjustments and discrimination arising from disability
• ✓Discrimination can be justified in limited circumstances for some characteristics (notably age and indirect discrimination) but never for pregnancy, maternity, or direct disability discrimination

Age protection covers people of any age — young and old alike. An employer cannot lawfully refuse to hire you, dismiss you, or treat you less favourably in any aspect of employment because of your age (or a perceived age).

• ✓Direct age discrimination: refusing to hire someone because they are "too young" or "too old," or selecting someone for redundancy because of their age
• ✓Indirect age discrimination: applying a blanket rule that appears neutral but puts people of a particular age at a disadvantage — for example, requiring "a minimum of five years' experience" for an entry-level role can indirectly discriminate against younger workers
• ✓Harassment on grounds of age: persistent jokes about someone being "past it" or "too young to understand" can constitute age harassment
• ✓Retirement: there is no default retirement age in the UK. An employer cannot force you to retire unless they can objectively justify it as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate business aim
• ✓Benefits linked to length of service: these are generally lawful if the threshold does not exceed five years — beyond that, employers must justify the link
• ✓Age is the only protected characteristic where both direct and indirect discrimination can be justified if the employer can show the treatment is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim — for example, a minimum age requirement for a role involving significant physical risk or regulated financial activity

Disability has the widest set of protections of any characteristic under the Equality Act — six distinct types of unlawful treatment compared to four for most other characteristics. The law goes further for disabled people because discrimination often takes subtler forms, and because adjustments are frequently needed to create a level playing field.

A disability is a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial (more than minor or trivial) and long-term (lasting or likely to last 12 months or more) adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. The definition is broader than many people expect.

• ✓Conditions that can qualify include: depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, autism spectrum conditions, cancer (from diagnosis), HIV (from diagnosis), multiple sclerosis, diabetes, IBS, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, and many others
• ✓You do not need a formal diagnosis to be covered — you need to show that the impairment meets the substantial and long-term test
• ✓The six types of disability discrimination: direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, victimisation, failure to make reasonable adjustments, and discrimination arising from disability (treating you unfavourably because of something connected with your disability)
• ✓Reasonable adjustments: employers have a positive duty to make changes to working arrangements, premises, or practices to remove substantial disadvantage — this can include flexible hours, homeworking, adjusted targets, specialist equipment, or a phased return after illness
• ✓Discrimination arising from disability: for example, dismissing someone for poor attendance without considering that the absences were caused by their disability — this is unlawful unless the employer can justify it
• ✓There is no comparator required for a reasonable adjustments claim — you simply need to show that a provision, criterion, or practice puts you at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people

Gender reassignment protects people who are proposing to undergo, are undergoing, or have undergone a process (whether medical or social) to reassign their sex. The protection is broad and does not depend on surgery, medication, or any formal medical diagnosis.

• ✓A person who has simply decided to live as a gender different to their sex registered at birth is protected — no medical treatment is required
• ✓Protection covers transgender men, transgender women, non-binary people, and gender-fluid people who have gender reassignment as a characteristic
• ✓Direct discrimination includes: refusing to use someone's preferred name or pronouns in a deliberate and targeted way, treating a trans employee differently from colleagues in performance reviews, or refusing to hire a qualified candidate because they are trans
• ✓Indirect discrimination: applying workplace policies that particularly disadvantage trans employees — for example, inflexible dress codes that do not accommodate someone transitioning
• ✓Absence related to gender reassignment: if you are absent from work because of gender reassignment (for example, recovering from surgery), the employer must not treat you worse than they would treat someone absent due to illness or injury — doing so is direct discrimination
• ✓Harassment on grounds of gender reassignment is particularly common — including deliberate and repeated misgendering, intrusive questions about medical history, and derogatory comments — and is unlawful regardless of whether it is intended to cause harm

Marriage and civil partnership protects employees who are currently married or in a civil partnership from discrimination at work. This is the most narrowly scoped of the nine characteristics in terms of both who it protects and where it applies.

• ✓Protection covers only people who are currently married (including same-sex marriage) or in a civil partnership — it does not protect single people, those who are divorced, those who are widowed, or those who are engaged but not yet married
• ✓Direct discrimination: dismissing or passing over for promotion an employee because they are married — for example, assumptions that a married woman will soon become pregnant, or that a married man's loyalty lies elsewhere
• ✓Common scenarios: employers who treat married employees differently from unmarried colleagues in terms of flexible working applications, promotion decisions, or redundancy selection
• ✓Indirect discrimination: applying a policy that disadvantages married people — for example, requiring relocation to a location that makes it significantly harder for an employee with a spouse to comply
• ✓Only harassment and victimisation provisions do not apply to this characteristic — the Act specifically limits it to direct and indirect discrimination in employment
• ✓Unlike all other characteristics, marriage and civil partnership protection does not extend to education, housing, or the provision of services — it applies only in employment and related contexts

Pregnancy and maternity protection is one of the strongest in the Equality Act. It is an absolute protection during the "protected period" — you do not need to compare yourself to anyone else, and the employer cannot justify unfavourable treatment on grounds of pregnancy or maternity.

• ✓Protection applies from the moment your employer knows you are pregnant — there is no need to make a formal announcement; verbal notification is sufficient
• ✓Unfavourable treatment during the protected period (pregnancy through the end of statutory maternity leave) is automatically unlawful — no comparator is needed
• ✓Dismissal: if the principal reason for your dismissal is pregnancy or maternity leave, it is automatically unfair dismissal — you do not need two years' service to bring this claim
• ✓Covered situations include: dismissal for pregnancy-related absence, redundancy selection influenced by pregnancy, failure to offer a suitable alternative role on redundancy during maternity leave, demotion or changed duties on return from maternity leave
• ✓Pregnancy-related conditions are covered: if you are absent due to morning sickness, pregnancy complications, or other pregnancy-related illness, this absence cannot be counted against you in disciplinary or attendance records
• ✓Time off for antenatal appointments: you have the right to paid time off for antenatal care — your employer cannot refuse this or penalise you for taking it
• ✓Before the protected maternity period begins, less favourable treatment because of pregnancy also falls within sex discrimination — providing a continuous thread of protection

Race protection covers a cluster of related characteristics: colour, nationality, ethnic origins, and national origins. It is one of the most litigated protected characteristics in UK employment law, and racial harassment in particular remains widespread.

• ✓Race includes colour (e.g. being treated less favourably because you are Black or mixed race), nationality (e.g. being treated differently because you are Polish or Nigerian), and ethnic or national origins
• ✓Ethnic group protection has a specific legal meaning — a group defined by shared history, cultural tradition, and descent. Jewish people, Sikhs, Romany Gypsies, Irish Travellers, and Roma are all recognised ethnic groups under the Act
• ✓Caste discrimination: the law is unsettled. Some Employment Tribunal decisions have found that caste falls within ethnic origins under the Act, but there is no definitive Court of Appeal ruling. If you have suffered caste-based discrimination, take specialist advice
• ✓Indirect race discrimination: applying a rule or practice that disadvantages a particular racial group — for example, requiring a specific academic qualification only available in the UK, which may disproportionately exclude candidates from certain countries
• ✓Racial harassment is particularly common and takes many forms: racist jokes, derogatory nicknames, comments about accent or language, exclusion from social activities, or offensive "banter" about cultural background
• ✓Perception and association: you are also protected if you are discriminated against because of your association with someone of a particular race (e.g. you are white but treated badly because your partner is Black) or because someone perceives you to be of a particular race

Religion or belief protects both religious belief and philosophical belief — as well as the absence of any religion or belief. The scope of "belief" has been significantly expanded by case law and covers a wider range of sincerely held positions than many employers realise.

• ✓Religion: any religion is protected — from major world religions (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Sikhism, Buddhism) to smaller and minority faiths. There is no requirement for the religion to be mainstream or widely recognised
• ✓Philosophical belief must be: genuinely held; a belief (not merely an opinion or viewpoint); a weighty and substantial aspect of human life and behaviour; coherent; and worthy of respect in a democratic society. It need not be widely shared
• ✓Beliefs that have been found to qualify include: ethical veganism, belief in climate change as requiring lifestyle changes, Humanism, Steiner philosophy, and belief in the sanctity of life. Beliefs that have failed include: support for a particular political party and transient personal views
• ✓Lack of religion and lack of belief are explicitly protected — an atheist, agnostic, or secular humanist has the same protection as a believer
• ✓Indirect discrimination is particularly common: dress code policies that prohibit religious dress (hijab, turban, kippah, cross), refusals to accommodate prayer breaks, requiring weekend working that falls on an employee's Sabbath or holy day
• ✓Employers are not legally required to accommodate religious observance in the same way they must make reasonable adjustments for disability — but if they refuse to accommodate and the refusal puts a religious group at a disadvantage, that may be indirect discrimination unless the employer can justify it
• ✓Direct religious discrimination includes: refusing to hire someone because of their faith, dismissing someone for wearing religious dress, or imposing a "secular" rule that is applied selectively against religious employees

Sex discrimination protects both men and women from less favourable treatment because of their sex. Protection extends not only to explicit discrimination but also to stereotyping, assumptions about capability, and gender-based structural disadvantage.

• ✓Both men and women are protected — a man who is treated less favourably than a woman in comparable circumstances can bring a sex discrimination claim
• ✓Direct sex discrimination: refusing to hire a woman for a role "because it's a man's job," assuming a female employee is less committed because she has children, paying a woman less than a male colleague for the same or equivalent work
• ✓Indirect sex discrimination: applying a rule that appears neutral but disproportionately disadvantages one sex — for example, a blanket refusal of flexible working requests may indirectly discriminate against women who carry a greater share of childcare responsibilities
• ✓Equal pay: paying women less than men for the same work, work rated as equivalent, or work of equal value is unlawful under both the Equality Act&apos;s sex discrimination provisions and the separate equal pay framework — see our <a href='/employment/equal-pay' style='color:#1E5EFF'>equal pay guide</a>
• ✓Pregnancy and pre-protected-period treatment: before statutory maternity leave begins, unfavourable treatment because of pregnancy or childbirth is treated as sex discrimination — providing protection from the very start of pregnancy
• ✓Dress codes and grooming standards: employers can set different dress codes for men and women, but must not impose a standard on one sex that is substantially more burdensome — requiring women to wear high heels, for example, has been found to be unlawful

Sexual orientation protection covers heterosexual, gay, lesbian, and bisexual orientations. The law protects all orientations equally — it is not only about protecting gay and lesbian employees, but anyone discriminated against on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation.

• ✓All orientations are protected: heterosexual, gay, lesbian, and bisexual. An employer who discriminates against heterosexual employees — for example, in a predominantly gay workplace — is equally in breach of the law
• ✓Perceived orientation: you are protected even if the employer&apos;s belief about your orientation is wrong. Harassing someone because you perceive them to be gay — even if they are not — is unlawful
• ✓Associative discrimination: treating someone less favourably because of the sexual orientation of someone they are associated with (for example, a heterosexual employee whose close friend is gay) is also unlawful
• ✓Harassment on grounds of sexual orientation is common and takes many forms: homophobic slurs, &quot;outing&quot; someone to colleagues or clients without their consent, intrusive questions about personal life, exclusion from social activities, or derogatory &quot;banter&quot;
• ✓Sexual orientation is distinct from gender identity — gender identity is covered by the gender reassignment characteristic, not sexual orientation
• ✓Indirect discrimination: applying a policy that puts gay, lesbian, or bisexual employees at a particular disadvantage — for example, a restrictive relocation or housing benefit policy that does not recognise same-sex partnerships (though civil partnership protection now overlaps here)

If you believe you have been discriminated against at work on the basis of a protected characteristic, you have several routes to resolution — from internal grievances through to Employment Tribunal proceedings.

• ✓Compensation for discrimination is uncapped — unlike unfair dismissal, there is no statutory limit
• ✓Injury to feelings awards are made on a three-band scale: lower band £1,100–£11,200 (one-off acts); middle band £11,200–£33,700 (serious cases); upper band £33,700–£56,200 (the most serious cases)
• ✓Additional compensation is available for personal injury where there is medical evidence of psychological harm
• ✓Tribunals can also make recommendations — requiring an employer to take specific steps to prevent future discrimination
• ✓See our full guide to the <a href='/employment/discrimination' style='color:#1E5EFF'>discrimination claims process</a> and the <a href='/employment/tribunal' style='color:#1E5EFF'>Employment Tribunal</a> for detailed procedural guidance