Alpha Law – Employment Law

Are you experiencing sexual discrimination at work?

The Equality Act 2010 protects individuals within employment against sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation. It applies to men and women, although the majority of claims are brought by women.  The Act also protects job applicants.

It is unlawful for an employer to:

• Discriminate by treating a job applicant or employee less favourably than others because of their sex. This could include, for example, questioning a female job applicant about her plans to start a family or stating in a job advert that it would be better suited to female applicants.

• Discriminating indirectly by applying a workplace rule that disadvantages job applicants or employees of one sex without objective justification. For example, a requirement that job applicants be 6 feet tall could be met by significantly fewer women than men.

• Subjecting a job applicant or employee to harassment relating to sex or less favourable treatment because they reject or submit to harassment. This would include, for example, where an employer dismisses an employee for rejecting sexual advances.

• Victimising a job applicant or employee because they have or intend to make a sex discrimination complaint

It is also unlawful for an employer to treat women less favourably for a reason relating to pregnancy or maternity leave. So, for example, if an employer withdraws a job offer made to a female job applicant upon learning that she is pregnant that will give rise to a claim for unlawful discrimination.  We have been involved in a case in which a job applicant was awarded in excess of £35,000 when the job offer was withdrawn after she notified the employer that she was pregnant.

We regularly advise and represent clients in claims for unlawful sex discrimination. An employment tribunal can award compensation for injury to feelings and also for loss of earnings.  There is no upper limit on the amount of compensation that may be awarded by an employment tribunal for unlawful sex discrimination.  The amount of compensation ordered or that we are able to negotiate for you will depend upon whether you are still employed, whether you have secured new employment and whether the incident relied upon was an isolated incident or one of a series of incidents. Please click here for examples of cases and compensation awarded.  Most employment tribunal cases settle before they reach the tribunal.

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