Discrimination
Questions on this page:
How are we protected from discrimination?
How do you complain about discrimination?
What is Discrimination?
Discrimination is when someone is treated differently because of their gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation or transgender status.
Discrimination can be either direct or indirect. Direct discrimination is when somebody’s gender, age, race, disability, religion or sexual orientation is openly used as the reason for discriminating against them. An example of this would be if someone was bullied because of their disability. Indirect discrimination occurs when the rules or regulations in place don’t expressly say that someone should be treated differently but have the affect that the person will be treated differently to the other people there. An example of this would be if a school or college has a rule that students are only allowed to attend if they wear a specific uniform for school which some students would not be able to wear because of their religious beliefs.
How are we protected from discrimination?
You do not have to accept unfair treatment. The United Kingdom has laws in place which do not allow discrimination on grounds of race, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation and transgender status. For example, you have a right not to be discriminated against while you are learning or training, working, applying for housing, or when you are dealing with the police or court services. In some settings, you will be able to bring a claim against someone who discriminates against you. For example, if you have been the victim of discrimination at work you may be able to take your employer to an employment tribunal.
How do you complain about discrimination?
There are several organisations where you can seek advice and help when facing unfair treatment:
Equality and Human Rights Commission Help Line
England: 0845-604-6610
Connexions
If you are a college or university student you can contact your local student’s union for help
You can also contact the Citizens Advice Bureau for advice
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