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As an employer, you should know that it is unlawful to discriminate in employment and that you must prevent it. Discrimination is illegal where it is based on any of the nine protected characteristics, such as race or sexual orientation. Sex or gender is one of the protected characteristics, meaning sex discrimination is illegal. Nonetheless, sex discrimination is a common problem in employment, and you must be aware of what it is and how you might prevent it. If you do sexually discriminate or fail to stop sexual discrimination, you could face an employment tribunal for a discrimination claim. This article will explain what you, as an employer, need to know about sex discrimination in the UK. It will explain, for example, what sex discrimination is and how to prevent it.
What is Sex Discrimination?
Sex discrimination is when you treat someone in the workplace unfairly due to their gender. It does not matter if you discriminate continuously or if it is a one-off action.
While women face sexual discrimination more frequently than men, it is equally unlawful to discriminate against a man on the basis of his sex or gender.
You may hear sexual discrimination also referred to as gender discrimination. Sexual discrimination is distinct from sexual orientation discrimination, though both are unlawful.
Everyone in employment is protected from sexual discrimination, which includes, for example:
- employees;
- agency workers;
- contractors;
- freelancers;
- the self-employed;
- work experience students; and
- apprentices.
You should not sexually discriminate in any employment context, for example:
- recruitment;
- pay;
- promotion;
- training;
- dismissal; or
- redundancy.
What Are the Types of Sex Discrimination?
Sex discrimination, like other unlawful discrimination, is illegal in various ways, which are detailed as follows:
| Direct discrimination | Direct discrimination is where you treat a person less favourably than another, specifically because of their sex or gender —for example, not promoting a woman and choosing a man instead. |
| Indirect discrimination |
Indirect discrimination is where you apply a rule to everyone, but in doing so, a group of individuals within it are disadvantaged due to their sex. Additionally, indirect discrimination is unlawful unless you can demonstrate that the rule which caused the discrimination was proportionate. |
| Associative discrimination | Associative discrimination is where you treat someone less favourably because they are associated with someone with a protected characteristic. Although it is not common regarding sex, it could happen where for example, a woman is treated less favourably because she was supportive of her male colleague when he experienced sexual discrimination. |
| Victimisation | Victimisation is when you treat someone less favourably because they have made a complaint about discrimination based on sex. |
| Harassment | Harassment is ‘unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual.’ When harassment is about sex, it can be:
|
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Preventing Sex Discrimination
As an employer, you have a duty not to unlawfully discriminate based on sex. You are also responsible for ensuring that others do not unlawfully discriminate against any of your staff. If others are engaging in unlawful discrimination, the law can hold your business responsible.
You should take a proactive approach to prevent sexual discrimination in the workplace. Ways to avoid sex discrimination from occurring in the workplace are, for example:
- creating an equality and diversity policy which states that you do not tolerate discrimination;
- training your staff about discrimination;
- communicating to staff that discrimination can happen over email or the intranet;
- being clear about how staff can disclose instances of sexual discrimination; and
- avoiding stereotypes.
You should regularly review your policies and practices to prevent discrimination in employment to ensure that they remain effective.
Key Takeaways
Sexual discrimination in employment is unlawful. This means that you must not discriminate against anyone because of their sex or gender. As an employer, you have a duty to prevent others in your workplace from engaging in sexual discrimination. Your duty to prevent sexual discrimination extends to contractors, part-time workers, and agency workers, among others. Ways to prevent sex discrimination include drafting policies against it and taking action when you suspect one more staff member is engaging in sexual discrimination.
If you need help navigating your obligations to prevent sex discrimination in England, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sex discrimination is when you mistreat someone or treat them less favourably based on their sex.
It is unlawful to discriminate against anyone in employment based on their sex, including men.
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