bisexual person who is in a relationship with a same-sex partner. The requirement must be crucial to the job or role, and not merely one of several important factors. The job or role must be closely related to the purposes of the religion, and the application of the requirement must be proportionate. If you are an employment service provider, you may be able to say that a person must have a particular protected characteristic to do vocational training, if the training leads to work for which having that characteristic is an occupational requirement. If you are an educational establishment like a school or college, you may be able to say that someone has to be of a particular religion or belief, or must be a woman, to hold a particular post, including on promotion or transfer. If you are promoting or transferring someone within the civil, diplomatic, armed or security and intelligence services and some other public bodies, you can specify what nationality a person has to be. If you are promoting or transferring people who are serving in the armed forces, you may be able to exclude women and transsexual people if this is a proportionate way to ensure the combat effectiveness of the armed forces. In addition, age and disability are, in effect, not protected characteristics for service in the armed forces. There are more details of these exceptions in the Glossary. Good practice tips: using exceptions If someone disagrees with you and brings an Employment Tribunal claim, you may need to show why you thought an exception applied. When you’re making the decision: Look at the exceptions to see if they might apply to your situation or organisation. If you decide an exception does apply, keep a note of why you decided this. Tell people which exception you are using, for example, through any information you give staff about the training, development, promotion or transfer. Treating disabled people better than non-disabled people Equality law allows you to treat a disabled worker better – or more favourably – than a non-disabled worker. This can be done even if the disabled worker is not at a
people they are working with. You can read more about what to do if someone says they’ve been discriminated against in . Good practice tip for how you and your staff should behave Ideally, you want anyone who works for you to treat everyone they come across with dignity and respect. This will help you provide a good working environment (not just without discriminating but more generally) and can make your workers more productive. If your staff do unlawfully discriminate against their fellow workers or others in a work situation, your reputation may suffer even if the person on the receiving end does not bring a legal case against you. When your workers or agents may be personally liable A worker employed by you or your agent may be personally responsible for their own acts of discrimination, harassment or victimisation carried out during their employment or while acting with your authority. This applies where either: you are also liable as their employer or principal, or you would be responsible but you show that: you took all reasonable steps to prevent your worker discriminating against, harassing or victimising someone, or that your agent acted outside the scope of your authority. For example: A factory worker racially harasses their colleague. The employer would be liable for the worker’s actions, but is able to show that they took all reasonable steps to stop the harassment. The colleague can still claim compensation against the factory worker in an Employment Tribunal. But there is an exception to this. A worker or agent will not be responsible if their employer or principal has told them that there is nothing wrong with what they are doing and the employee or agent reasonably believes this to be true. It is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine, for an employer or principal to make a false statement which an employee or agent relies upon to carry out an unlawful act.
gender reassignment The process of changing or transitioning from one gender to another. The Equality Act prohibits discrimination against a person who is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process, or part of a process, for the purpose of reassigning their sex. See also transsexual person. gender recognition certificate A certificate issued under the Gender Recognition Act to a transsexual person who seeks such a certificate and who has, or has had gender dysphoria, has lived in the acquired gender throughout the preceding two years, and intends to continue to live in the acquired gender until death. guaranteed interview scheme This is a scheme for disabled people which means that an applicant will be invited for interview if they meet the essential specified requirements of the job. harass To behave towards someone in a way that violates their dignity, or creates a degrading, humiliating, hostile, intimidating or offensive environment for them. harassment Unwanted behaviour that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creates a degrading, humiliating, hostile, intimidating or offensive environment for them. See also sexual harassment. impairment A functional limitation which may lead to a person being defined as disabled according to the definition under the Act. See also disability. indirect discrimination Where an employer applies (or would apply) an apparently neutral practice, provision or criterion which puts people with a particular protected characteristic at a disadvantage compared with others who do not share that characteristic, unless applying the practice, provision or criterion can be objectively justified by the employer.