To celebrate Pride, towns and cities across the UK host pride parades, ordinarily running from March to September. Under the Equality Act 2010 those who identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community hold protected characteristics including those protected under section 7 (Gender reassignment) and section 12 (Sexual orientation). The Equality Act 2010 protects individuals with protected characteristics from being subjected to discrimination by employers, organisations and service providers.
Common types of discrimination experienced
Harassment
An individual may experience harassment if they have been subjected to any comments or other conduct by an organisation or by an individual who represents an organisation or service provider, relating to a protected characteristic.
To constitute harassment under the Equality Act 2010, the conduct must have resulted in violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.
Examples of harassment could include homophobic or transphobic comments, inappropriate comments or conduct said to be “jokes” or “banter”.
Victimisation
In order to establish whether you have been victimised, you must establish whether you have suffered a detriment because of a protected act (usually where an individual has made a complaint of discrimination).
A detriment could include being dismissed from your role, being demoted, being barred from accessing a service or being removed from your property by your landlord.
Direct discrimination
A person can be directly discriminated against where they have been treated less favourably or put at a disadvantage because of their protected characteristic.
Examples of direct discrimination could include being evicted from your property, being refused a service or not being hired by a company because of your protected characteristic.
If you believe that you have been discriminated against by a service provider, organisation or an employer due to your sexual orientation or your gender reassignment, our specialist Discrimination Law Team may be able to advise you and assist you in bringing a claim under the Equality Act 2010.
Alternatively, if you are a business who has received a complaint of discrimination or had a claim brought against you, please contact our specialist discrimination law team on 0161 696 6170 for advice and assistance in defending discrimination claims.
Blog author: Caitlin Brown
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