Workplace Discrimination Explained
A plain English guide to workplace discrimination, protected characteristics, your legal rights and how Employment Tribunals assess discrimination claims.
Discrimination is one of the most common categories of Employment Tribunal claim. The Equality Act 2010 protects workers from being treated unfavourably because of who they are. CaseIntel benchmarks your situation against comparable tribunal decisions so you can decide what to do next with real evidence.
What is workplace discrimination?
Workplace discrimination is unlawful unfavourable treatment of an employee, worker or job applicant because of a protected characteristic. It is governed by the Equality Act 2010, which brings together earlier discrimination laws into a single framework covering recruitment, employment, dismissal and post-employment matters.
The Act covers a wide range of work-related decisions and conduct:
Recruitment and selection
Job adverts, shortlisting, interview questions and offer decisions must not be tainted by a protected characteristic.
Terms and conditions
Pay, benefits, promotion, training opportunities and access to development must be free from discriminatory bias.
Harassment
Unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that violates dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment.
Victimisation
Treating someone badly because they have made — or are believed to have made — a complaint or supported someone else's complaint.
Protected characteristics
The Equality Act 2010 sets out nine protected characteristics. Anything you might encounter at work — from a flippant comment to a redundancy selection — can amount to discrimination if it is linked to one of these.
Age
Being treated unfavourably because of your age or perceived age group, whether older or younger.
Disability
A physical or mental impairment with a substantial, long-term adverse effect on day-to-day activities.
Gender reassignment
Anyone proposing to undergo, undergoing or having undergone a process to reassign their gender.
Marriage and civil partnership
Being treated less favourably because you are married or in a civil partnership.
Pregnancy and maternity
Unfavourable treatment connected to pregnancy, pregnancy-related illness or statutory maternity leave.
Race
Includes colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origins.
Religion or belief
Any religion or religious or philosophical belief — including a lack of belief.
Sex
Being treated unfavourably because you are a man or a woman.
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation towards people of the same sex, opposite sex, or both.
Types of discrimination
The Equality Act recognises several distinct ways an employer can discriminate. A single set of facts can give rise to more than one type of claim, which is why discrimination cases often involve multiple legal arguments running in parallel.
Direct discrimination
Treating someone less favourably than others because of a protected characteristic — for example refusing to promote someone because of their race.
Indirect discrimination
A policy, criterion or practice that applies to everyone but puts people with a particular protected characteristic at a disadvantage and cannot be objectively justified.
Harassment
Unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that violates dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
Victimisation
Detrimental treatment because someone has done a 'protected act' — for example raising a discrimination grievance or supporting a colleague's complaint.
Failure to make reasonable adjustments
Where a disabled worker is placed at a substantial disadvantage by a workplace provision, criterion, practice or physical feature, and the employer fails to take reasonable steps to remove that disadvantage.
Discrimination arising from disability
Treating a disabled person unfavourably because of something arising in consequence of their disability (e.g. disability-related sickness absence), where the treatment cannot be objectively justified.
Common workplace examples
The same conduct can amount to clear discrimination in one context and be lawful in another. Tribunals decide each case on its own facts, including the wider context, the employer's explanation and the available evidence.
Refused promotion because of pregnancy
An employee is passed over for a promotion after announcing her pregnancy, with the role given to a less experienced colleague.
Disability adjustments ignored
A disabled employee requests reasonable adjustments — equipment, flexible hours, phased return — and the employer fails to engage or implement them.
Racial harassment
Comments, jokes or behaviour related to race that create a hostile environment, particularly where complaints are dismissed or not investigated.
Sexist comments
Comments, banter or treatment that disadvantages employees of one sex — for example assumptions about caring responsibilities or aptitude for senior roles.
Age discrimination during recruitment
Job adverts, language or shortlisting criteria that screen out older or younger candidates, or interview questions that focus on age-related assumptions.
Religious dress issues
Uniform or appearance policies that disadvantage employees of a particular religion or belief and cannot be objectively justified.
Bringing a tribunal claim
Discrimination claims are brought in the Employment Tribunal under the same broad procedure as other employment claims, with some important differences around the burden of proof and remedies.
ACAS Early Conciliation
Before issuing a claim you must notify ACAS, who offer a free conciliation period to try and resolve matters without a tribunal.
Strict time limits
Discrimination claims must usually be started within three months less one day of the act complained of, subject to extension via ACAS Early Conciliation. Continuing acts can extend that window.
Evidence
Direct evidence of discrimination is rare. Tribunals look at emails, comments, comparators, statistical patterns, grievance correspondence and the employer's explanation.
Burden of proof
If the claimant proves facts from which discrimination could be inferred, the burden shifts to the employer to provide a non-discriminatory explanation.
Discrimination compensation
Compensation in successful discrimination claims is uncapped, and is calculated on a different basis to ordinary unfair dismissal. Awards have several distinct components.
Financial losses
Past and future loss of earnings, pension, benefits and the cost of finding new work. Mitigation — taking reasonable steps to find new employment — applies.
Injury to feelings
Compensation for the upset, hurt and distress caused by the discrimination. Awards fall into three bands depending on severity, with the upper band reserved for the most serious cases.
Aggravated damages
In rare cases, an additional sum where the employer's conduct has been particularly high-handed, malicious or oppressive.
Why awards vary
Salary, length of service, how quickly the claimant returns to comparable work, the seriousness of the conduct and the strength of the evidence all drive significant variation.
See what comparable discrimination cases have actually been worth
Discrimination awards range from modest sums to six figures depending on the facts. Our Tribunal Outcome Predictor models likely outcomes and award ranges using comparable published decisions, and our Settlement Offer Checker benchmarks any offer on the table.
Discrimination Tribunal Statistics & Trends
This section will shortly contain original CaseIntel analysis of discrimination claims, drawn from our database of more than 54,000 published Employment Tribunal decisions.
Claim success rates
How often discrimination claims succeed across our database of published Employment Tribunal decisions, broken down by type.
Compensation analysis
Typical award ranges in successful discrimination claims, including financial loss and injury-to-feelings components.
Protected characteristics
How outcomes vary across protected characteristics — age, disability, race, sex, religion and the others.
Industries
How discrimination outcomes vary across sectors — from financial services to healthcare, retail and the public sector.
Regional trends
How discrimination outcomes differ across Employment Tribunal regions in England, Wales and Scotland.
Discrimination cases turn on subtle factual differences
Two superficially similar discrimination cases can produce very different outcomes depending on the evidence, the comparators and the employer's explanation. CaseIntel benchmarks your situation against comparable published tribunal decisions so you can decide what to do next with evidence rather than guesswork.
Claim Success Checker
See how often comparable discrimination claims have actually succeeded at tribunal, based on real published decisions.
Tribunal Outcome Predictor
Model the likely outcome and award range if a discrimination dispute went all the way to tribunal.
Settlement Offer Checker
Benchmark a settlement offer against awards in comparable discrimination cases before you sign anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as workplace discrimination?+
Workplace discrimination is unfavourable treatment of an employee, worker or job applicant because of a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.
It covers recruitment, terms and conditions, promotion, dismissal, harassment, victimisation and a number of other work-related decisions and conduct.
What are protected characteristics?+
There are nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
Any unfavourable treatment connected to one of these can be unlawful.
Can I claim for harassment?+
Yes. Harassment is unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that violates dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
A single serious incident can be enough. A series of less serious incidents can also amount to harassment when taken together.
Do I need evidence?+
Direct evidence of discrimination is rare. Tribunals look at emails, comments, comparators, statistical patterns, grievance correspondence and the employer's explanation.
If you prove facts from which discrimination could be inferred, the burden shifts to the employer to provide a credible non-discriminatory explanation.
What compensation can I receive?+
Discrimination awards are uncapped and typically include past and future financial losses, injury to feelings, and — in serious cases — aggravated damages.
Awards range from modest sums to six figures depending on salary, length of service, the seriousness of the conduct and the time taken to find new work.
Do I need two years' service?+
No. Unlike ordinary unfair dismissal, discrimination claims do not require any minimum period of service. Workers, employees, contractors and even job applicants can bring claims.
How long do I have to bring a claim?+
Most discrimination claims must be started within three months less one day of the act complained of, subject to extension via ACAS Early Conciliation.
Continuing acts of discrimination can extend that window. Time limits are strict, so don't delay if you're considering a claim.
Should I raise a grievance first?+
It is usually advisable. A grievance gives the employer a chance to address the issue, creates a clear written record, and can support any later tribunal claim.
Failing to raise issues internally can also reduce any later tribunal compensation through an ACAS Code uplift or reduction.
Think you've experienced discrimination at work?
CaseIntel compares your circumstances against real Employment Tribunal decisions to help you better understand your position — and decide whether to raise it, negotiate or push for a tribunal.
This guide is for general information only and is not legal advice. Always consult a qualified employment solicitor before making any legal decisions.