All employees have rights when it comes to facing discrimination at work but exactly how far do these protective laws extend?
Under the UK’s Equality Act 2010, several protective measures were outlined that entitles people to have rights against any acts of discrimination that they may encounter, including within the working environment and even at the interview process stage.
Some of the types of discrimination or ‘protected measures’ that are outlined by the UK Government in relation to the Equality Act 2010 can range from age, being married, pregnant, disabled, race, religion and gender to being a transsexual person or having a specific sexual orientation.
When being unfairly discriminated, the claimant has several options regarding the forms of action that they can take. For instance, the employee being discriminated against can make a confidential complaint to the HR Department, in which will then be handled internally. Alternatively, the claimant can take the case to court or tribunal, in which they will be able to fully make use of the law in regard to the protection of their rights against discrimination.
However, with most employees not having the confidence, time or initial funding to take the claim to court and tribunal, how far really is the Equality Act 2010 acting as a protective measure for employee’s rights against discrimination?
For instance, many discrimination cases are handled by companies internal HR department, in which will eventually be resolved without referral to the law to its fullest extent. Therefore, could it be suggested that HR departments are slowly acting like legal departments, solving internal disputes for business without the necessity to take claims made to the court?
Being so, it may be argued that as most disputes are aimed to be rectified by HR departments, the law is technically failing in its ability to allow people to have access to the full use of the law and of their rights by relying on the ability of the internal HR department to act instead.
Therefore, should HR departments be encouraged more to take claims to court so that employees may have an advanced understanding of the power that they have when claiming for the protection of their rights in law?
Author the Author
Portia Vincent-Kirby is the Legal PA and Public Relations Co-Ordinator at Hudson McKenzie. Portia specialises in handling the firm’s articles and newsletter, as well as managing the general PR of the firm overall.