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The Equality Act became law in 2010. It covers everyone in Britain and protects people from discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
The Act provides a legal framework to protect the rights of individuals and advance equality of opportunity for all. It provides Britain with a discrimination law which protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society.
The Equality Act is a law which protects you from discrimination. It means that discrimination or unfair treatment on the basis of certain personal characteristics is now against the law in almost all cases.
The Equality Act applies to discrimination based on:
In discrimination cases, where there has been a breach of the Equality Act 2010 by the employer, the two most important categories are injury to feelings and loss of earnings. Unlike unfair dismissal, there is no limit on the amount of compensation that can be awarded in discrimination cases.
Under the Equality Act you are protected from discrimination:
The Equality Act also requires public bodies (like local councils, hospitals, and publicly-funded service providers) to consider how their decisions and policies affect people with different protected characteristics. The public body also should have evidence to show how it has done this.
