What is direct discrimination?

Most people are unsure of the law relating to discrimination and when discrimination will be unlawful. The most common type of discrimination is direct discrimination. Direct discrimination occurs where a relevant person such as your employer  treats you differently because of who you are. 

The law protecting you from discrimination at work is called the Equality Act 2010, and any discrimination which is against the Equality Act is against the law. This means you can take action against the discrimination at an employment tribunal.

Direct discrimination occurs when your employer treated you worse than someone else because of who you are. This discrimination will be unlawful where the discrimination is on one of the following grounds:

•age

•disability

•gender reassignment

•marriage and civil partnership

•race

•religion or belief

•sex

•sexual orientation

These are known as protected characteristics under the Equality act. 

EXAMPLE: You work in a small restaurant which has recently got a new manager. the new manager treats you unfairly. All other staff members are allowed to go home early and you are made to do more work. You think the reason your employer treats you this way is because you are Black as all of the other workers are white. If this is truly the reason you are being treated unfairly this is direct discrimination.

Who have you been treated worse than?

In order to prove that direct discrimination has taken place, you will need to show that you have been treated less well than someone else who is in the same or a similar position to you but that this person does not have your protected characteristic - this person is called a comparator.

When might direct discrimination not be unlawful?

Although generally if the above circumstances apply the direct discrimination will be unlawful, there are certain circumstances where direct discrimination will not be against the law.

To meet a legal requirement - It’s not unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act if the employer treats you less favourably as a result of doing something which is required by another law.

To meet immigration requirements - There are immigration laws which dictate who may come and work in the UK. If an employer refuses to give you a job because of your nationality, because you are not allowed to work in the UK under immigration law, this is not direct race discrimination.

Occupational requirements - In certain situations, an employer may allow only some people who have a particular protected characteristic to apply for a job. This is known as an occupational requirement under the equality act.

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