What the Equality Act 2010 means for employers
The Equality Act 2010 is the single most important piece of UK anti-discrimination legislation. It consolidated and replaced dozens of earlier laws into one framework that protects individuals from unfair treatment in the workplace and wider society.
For employers, the Act creates clear obligations. You must not discriminate against employees, job applicants, or workers because of a protected characteristic. You must take positive steps to prevent harassment. And if you get it wrong, discrimination claims carry no cap on compensation, making them among the most financially dangerous employment tribunal claims a business can face.
Understanding the Act is not just about legal compliance. It is about building a workplace where every employee is treated fairly and can perform at their best. This guide covers what you need to know in practical terms.
The nine protected characteristics
The Equality Act identifies nine protected characteristics. It is unlawful to discriminate against someone because of any of them.
Age. Protection applies to people of all ages, not just older workers. Setting an upper age limit on job advertisements, refusing to promote someone because they are "too young," or selecting someone for redundancy based on their proximity to retirement are all potentially discriminatory.
Disability. A person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. "Long-term" means 12 months or more. This includes conditions such as depression, anxiety, dyslexia, diabetes, cancer (from the point of diagnosis), and HIV. Employers who want to better understand supporting employees with conditions such as dyslexia, ADHD, or autism should read our guide on neurodiversity in the workplace.
Gender reassignment. A person is protected if they are proposing to undergo, are undergoing, or have undergone a process to reassign their sex. There is no requirement for medical treatment. A person who identifies as a different gender from their birth sex is protected from the point they propose to transition.
Marriage and civil partnership. Employees who are married or in a civil partnership are protected from discrimination on that basis. Single employees are not protected under this characteristic. This protection applies only to direct discrimination and harassment, not to indirect discrimination.
Pregnancy and maternity. Women are protected from discrimination because of pregnancy, pregnancy-related illness, or maternity leave. During the "protected period" (from the start of pregnancy until the end of maternity leave), any unfavourable treatment connected to pregnancy or maternity is automatically discriminatory. For a full breakdown of maternity entitlements, see our maternity leave and pay guide.
Race. This includes colour, nationality, ethnic origin, and national origin. It covers direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, and victimisation.
Religion or belief. This includes religious beliefs, philosophical beliefs, and lack of belief. To qualify, a belief must be genuinely held, relate to a weighty and substantial aspect of human life, be cogent, and be worthy of respect in a democratic society.
Sex. Protection against discrimination on the grounds of being male or female. This covers pay, recruitment, promotion, redundancy selection, and all other aspects of employment.
Sexual orientation. Protection for people who are heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual.
Types of discrimination
The Act defines several forms of prohibited conduct. Each operates differently, and understanding the distinctions matters when you are assessing risk in your workplace.
Direct discrimination
Treating someone less favourably because of a protected characteristic compared with how you would treat someone without that characteristic. For example, rejecting a job applicant because they are pregnant, or passing someone over for promotion because of their age.
Direct discrimination is almost always unlawful. The only exception is where a genuine occupational requirement applies, which is rare and narrowly defined.
Indirect discrimination
Applying a provision, criterion, or practice that appears neutral but puts people with a particular protected characteristic at a disadvantage. For example, requiring all staff to work full-time could indirectly discriminate against women, who are statistically more likely to have childcare responsibilities.
Indirect discrimination can be justified if you can show the requirement is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. But the burden of proof is on the employer to demonstrate that justification.
Harassment
Unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that has the purpose or effect of violating a person's dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment. A single incident can be enough. The perception of the person on the receiving end is central to the assessment.
For a detailed look at your duties around harassment and bullying, including the new preventative duty, see our workplace bullying and harassment guide.
Victimisation
Subjecting someone to a detriment because they have made or supported a complaint of discrimination, or because the employer believes they might do so. Victimisation claims arise when employees are penalised for raising concerns. This is closely connected to whistleblowing protections, where employees who raise concerns about legal wrongdoing are similarly protected from retaliation.
The duty to make reasonable adjustments
Where a disabled employee or job applicant is put at a substantial disadvantage by a provision, criterion, practice, or physical feature of the workplace, you have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to remove or reduce that disadvantage.
What counts as "reasonable" depends on the circumstances, including the size and resources of your business, the cost of the adjustment, and how effective it would be. Common examples include:
- Providing specialist equipment such as an ergonomic chair or screen reader software
- Adjusting working hours or allowing flexible start and finish times
- Allowing additional breaks for someone managing a health condition
- Modifying interview processes, for example allowing extra time or providing questions in advance
- Reallocating certain tasks that a disabled employee cannot perform
- Making physical changes to the premises, such as installing a ramp or relocating someone's workspace
The duty is anticipatory for service providers but reactive for employers, meaning it is triggered when you know or ought reasonably to know that an employee is disabled and disadvantaged. Asking the right questions at the right time matters. If an employee discloses a health condition, take it seriously and explore what adjustments might help.
The new preventative duty on sexual harassment
The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 introduced a significant new obligation from October 2024. Employers must now take "reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.
This is a proactive duty. You cannot simply wait for a complaint and then respond. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) expects employers to anticipate scenarios where sexual harassment could occur and take steps to prevent it.
From October 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthens this duty further. Employers will be required to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent harassment related to any protected characteristic, and this will include harassment by third parties such as customers, clients, and members of the public.
If a tribunal finds that you have breached the preventative duty, it can uplift compensation by up to 25%. Combined with the fact that discrimination claims are uncapped, the financial exposure is serious.
Discrimination claims have no compensation cap
Unlike standard unfair dismissal claims, which have a statutory cap on the compensatory award, discrimination claims under the Equality Act are uncapped. Compensation can include:
- Injury to feelings (assessed using the Vento bands, which are updated annually)
- Financial losses, including past and future loss of earnings
- Aggravated damages, where the employer's handling of the complaint worsened the impact
- Interest on the award
- Personal injury, where discrimination caused or worsened a psychiatric condition
Large awards are not limited to large employers. SMEs face the same exposure, and the legal costs of defending a tribunal claim can be substantial regardless of the outcome.
Practical steps every employer should take
Compliance with the Equality Act is not about ticking boxes. It requires a sustained, practical approach embedded in how you manage your business.
Review your policies
Start with your HR policies. You need a clear equal opportunities policy and an anti-harassment policy at a minimum. These should define what constitutes discrimination and harassment, set out the process for reporting concerns, and explain the consequences of breaching the policy. Make sure your policies and procedures are reviewed regularly and reflect current law.
Train your managers
Managers are the frontline of compliance. They need to understand what discrimination looks like in practice, how to respond to complaints, and how to avoid unconscious bias in decisions about recruitment, promotion, pay, and performance management. Our HR training covers these areas and can be tailored to your business.
Audit your recruitment practices
Discrimination claims often arise at the recruitment stage. Review your job advertisements for language that could deter applicants with particular protected characteristics. Ensure selection criteria are objective and job-related. Use structured interviews with consistent questions. Record your reasons for decisions so you can demonstrate fairness if challenged.
Handle complaints properly
When an employee raises a concern about discrimination, take it seriously. Follow your grievance procedure and the Acas Code of Practice. Investigate promptly and thoroughly. A poor response to a complaint can lead to a victimisation claim on top of the original discrimination claim. See our guide on handling employee grievances for a step-by-step process.
Consider reasonable adjustments proactively
Do not wait for a formal request. If you know or suspect an employee is disabled and may be disadvantaged, open a conversation about what support they might need. Document the discussion and any adjustments agreed.
Monitor and review
Use data from staff surveys, exit interviews, and diversity monitoring to identify potential issues before they become formal complaints. If patterns emerge, act on them.
Supporting employees through health-related challenges
Employers should be aware that some protected characteristics intersect with health and wellbeing in ways that require thoughtful management. For example, employees going through the menopause may experience symptoms that affect their work, and a failure to make reasonable adjustments or to treat their situation with sensitivity could give rise to claims of sex, age, or disability discrimination.
Taking a supportive, proactive approach to these issues is both good practice and good risk management.
How Rebox HR can help
We help businesses across the UK ensure their policies, practices, and management approach comply with the Equality Act 2010. Whether you need a full HR health check to identify gaps, support drafting policies and procedures, or guidance handling a specific situation, we can help.
If you are unsure whether your business is meeting its obligations under the Equality Act, or you are dealing with a discrimination complaint, book a free consultation and we will help you get it right.
