Equality and diversity legislation
The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.
It brought together over 116 pieces of legislation in a single Act, making it easier to understand the law and sets out the different ways in which it’s unlawful to treat someone.
The following are the 'protected characteristics' which the Equality Act makes it against the law to discriminate on:
- age
- being or becoming a transsexual person
- being married or in a civil partnership
- being pregnant or having a child
- disability
- race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
- religion, belief or lack of religion/belief
- sex
- sexual orientation