How are employees protected from sex discrimination?
Does the Equality Act 2010 outlaw associative discrimination?
When is an employer liable for sex discrimination?
Employers are directly liable under s.39 of the Equality Act 2010 for discriminating against a person because of his or her sex in respect of recruitment, during his or her employment or by dismissing him or her. Employers are also liable under s.108 of the Act for certain acts of discrimination committed after the working relationship has come to an end. Liability may also arise for instructing, causing or inducing a contravention of the Act.
An employer's liability is not just limited to its own actions. Employers may also be found liable where employees, in the course of their employment, perpetrate acts of sex discrimination, where an employer's agent commits an act of discrimination, or where an employee is harassed by a third party. The Government intends to use the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill to repeal the third-party harassment provisions of the Equality Act 2010. It is not known when the repeal will come into effect.
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Can an employer defend a direct sex discrimination claim on the basis that any discrimination was unintentional?
Does direct sex discrimination apply in cases of women only?
How does a court interpret an act of indirect sex discrimination?
Can an employer dismiss an employee on maternity leave who wants to return to work on a part-time basis?
Where an employee who is about to go on maternity leave requests that she return on reduced hours, is the employer under any obligation to consider her request at that point?
When can a complaint of victimisation be brought?
Are there any circumstances in which an employer can insist on recruiting either a man or a woman?
Are pregnancy and maternity rights covered by the Equality Act 2010?
Is harassment in relation to sex expressly prohibited under the Equality Act 2010?
What is the difference between sex-based harassment and sexual harassment?
Under the Equality Act 2010, can an employee bring a claim for harassment where the unwanted conduct is not directed at him or her?
If a third party harasses an employee, will his or her employer be liable for the third party's actions under the Equality Act 2010?
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?
Is it lawful for an employer to indicate that a vacancy is aimed at women if the job is advertised in a women's magazine?
What "positive action" is permitted under discrimination legislation?
Is an employer acting unlawfully if it tells a third party such as an employment agency that it would prefer to appoint a man for the job?