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How are employees protected from racial discrimination?

Are employers liable for any racial discrimination suffered by employees?

When may a claim of direct race discrimination be made?

Could an employee subjected to derogatory comments on the basis that he or she is Welsh have a potential claim under the Race Relations Act 1976?

Can an employer defend itself against accusations of racial discrimination on the grounds that it needed to impose particular conditions that were interpreted as discrimination?

If a white employee makes racist comments in the presence of other white employees only, could this be regarded as racial harassment?

What are the elements that constitute a claim of indirect race discrimination?

In what circumstances might an employee make a claim of victimisation under the Race Relations Act 1976?

Are there any circumstances in which an employer can insist on recruiting from a particular racial group?

Could an employer that refused to employ call centre staff with regional accents leave itself open to a claim of discrimination?

Is it lawful to ask a job applicant if he or she requires permission to work in the UK?

What "positive action" is permitted under discrimination legislation?

It is lawful under the various strands of discrimination legislation for employers to take action to compensate for disadvantages faced by people from a particular group (for example women, or people from a particular racial group) in relation to a certain area of work.

Positive action is lawful if it is taken to:

• afford people from a particular group access to facilities for training that would help fit them for particular work; or
• encourage people from a particular group to take advantage of opportunities for doing particular work,

as long as it reasonably appears to the employer that the action taken prevents or compensates for disadvantages suffered by people of that group in that particular area of work. In relation to sex and race discrimination the employer must show that the group has been underrepresented in that employment during the previous 12 months.

Positive action is not lawful at the selection stage. The employer can encourage people from disadvantaged groups to apply for work, and can provide training to help equip them for the particular work, but the decision on who to select must be made on merit alone.

For example, an employer that has records that show that its employees from a particular racial group are underrepresented at management level could run a management training course targeted at employees from that group. However, the employer could not favour candidates from that group, at the expense of other candidates, when recruiting managers.

Exceptions relating to positive action are included in legislation on sex, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation and age discrimination. There is no provision for positive action under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 because it is not unlawful to discriminate in favour of a disabled person and employers have a positive duty to make reasonable adjustments to compensate for disadvantages related to disability.

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Is there a legal requirement for employers to advertise every job vacancy that arises?

How are employees protected from dismissal on the grounds of race discrimination?

In what circumstances could an employer's requirements and conditions of the job lead to claims of discrimination?

In specifying the requirements for a job, what steps can an employer take to ensure that it is not liable to claims of indirect discrimination?

How can an employer ensure that its application forms are not discriminatory?

How can an employer ensure that line managers draw up a shortlist for a position without unlawfully discriminating against applicants?

Can an employer be held liable if an unsuccessful applicant provides evidence that he or she may have been discriminated against during an interview?

Does an unsuccessful job applicant require concrete evidence to prove that he or she was discriminated against?