2 Employment
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2. Do I need a contract of employment?
3. Do I have the right to work in the UK?
4. What is the least I should be paid?
5. How many hours can my employer make me work?
6. Does my employer have to recognise my trade union?
7. What if I´ve been dismissed unfairly?
8. Bringing a statutory claim for unfair dismissal
9. What if I´ve been made redundant?
10. Bringing a contractual claim for wrongful dismissal
11. What if I've been discriminated against?
Despite laws aimed at stamping it out, discrimination is still a common problem in the workplace. The main aim of the legislation is to prevent you being discriminated against because of your sex, (including if you are transgender), marital status, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief or age. The law protects part-time and fixed-term workers, as well as full-time employees, from unfair discrimination. Generally, it is also against the law to discriminate in the recruitment process.
For more information about discrimination, at work and elsewhere, there are three separate Community Legal Advice leaflets:
What counts as discrimination?
There are two types of discrimination by an employer:
Direct discrimination
This is when you are treated less favourably because of your race, sex (including if your are transgender), marital status (including if you are in a civil partnership), disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, or age - for example, if you are refused a job or promotion because you are a woman or of Asian background.
Indirect discrimination
In broad terms, this is when an employer imposes a condition of employment (known as a 'provision, criterion or practice') which applies to everyone but disadvantages a particular group of people (for example, people of a particular race). Groups protected in this way in the UK are married people, civil partners and any groups defined by their sex, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion, belief, sexual orientation or age. Although indirect discrimination is defined slightly differently for each group, employment tribunals take a broadly similar approach in all cases.
An example of indirect racial discrimination would be an employer asking all employees (including one who is a Sikh) to wear safety helmets at work without good reason (for example, in an office). A Sikh who wears a turban for religious reasons could say he had been discriminated against if he had to agree to wear the helmet to get the job, and the need to wear the helmet was not justified.
An example of indirect sex discrimination would be if an employer says, without having a good reason for a height requirement, that they will employ only people who are at least six feet tall, since fewer women than men are over six feet tall.
The Disability Discrimination Act does not distinguish between direct and indirect discrimination. However, regulations define what disability discrimination is, and when an employer can justify treating disabled employees less favourably than employees who are not disabled. There is more information about this on the Disability Rights Task Force website - see 'Further help' for the address.
What action can I take if I've been discriminated against?
If you think you have been discriminated against, you can take your case to the employment tribunal. If your claim succeeds, you can be awarded compensation. You must make your claim to the employment tribunal within three months of the date the discrimination happened.
12. What are my rights if I work part-time?
13. What are my rights if I´m having a baby?
14. Can I take leave as a new father?
15. What are my rights if I´m adopting a child?
16. What other leave can I get after my child is born or adopted?
17. Can I change my working arrangements if I have children?
18. Can I take time off if I am someone´s carer?
This leaflet is published by the Legal Services Commission (LSC). It was written in association with Ian Hunter, Head of the Employment Department, Bird & Bird, Solicitors.
The leaflets are regularly updated but the law may have changed since they were printed so the information in them may be incorrect or out of date.
Leaflet Version: July 2007
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