Discrimination in the workplace

All employers should be aware that it is not legally acceptable to have a bias against a job applicant or employee because of the colour of their skin, their gender, or their sexuality, but, unfortunately, there are still many acts of workplace discrimination taking place. Don’t take it for granted that you know what constitutes discrimination in the workplace, make sure you have a company policy that both you and your employees understand, and abide by.

What constitutes discrimination?

Discrimination is when a distinction made is based on a group someone belongs to – gender, religion, age, and so on – rather than their individual merits. The Equality Act 2010 includes nine ‘protected characteristics’: age, disability, gender reassignment, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, race, marriage and partnership, pregnancy and maternity. The act applies to all workers, including employees and freelancers, directors and trainees, and applicants in the hiring process, and covers all areas of employment.

Discrimination is divided into that which is ‘direct’, where an employer is overtly discriminatory, and that which is ‘indirect’, where a group is not singled out in an obvious manner but is excluded anyway due to a stipulation in a job specification or company policy. For example, if you need someone to sit behind a desk and complete administrative duties, then you are unlikely to have any justified business reason for specifying that they should be female or able- bodied, as the job could be performed by someone male or disabled. This would be an example of direct discrimination. If you specify that an aesthetic therapist must have National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and will not accept qualifications recognised as the equivalent to these by British examining bodies and insurers, then that could mean you are indirectly discriminating against those who are from countries that do not operate the NVQ system.

Remember that the Equality Act does not only cover your current employees, it covers applicants and interviewees for vacancies at your clinic, too. When you advertise a vacancy, make sure your essential requirements really are essential to the job and are not inadvertently discriminatory.

Do you have a justifiable business reason for needing someone ‘young and energetic’, or do they simply need to have a good level of enthusiasm and self-motivation?

You should not set different interview questions for male and female applicants, or ask specific questions based on someone’s age or personal circumstances. Your hiring process should be designed to identify the capability to perform the specified job, not to provide you with a picture of someone’s personal life. For example, you should not ask a young, recently married woman if she plans to have children.

Is discrimination ever acceptable?

This may sound like a silly question, but the answer is yes. Discrimination is acceptable where there is a justified business reason for doing so. Discriminating against someone because of their gender is acceptable in certain circumstances, and one of those applies very clearly to many cosmetic clinics. Certain jobs can require a person of a particular sex to fill that role due to reasons of privacy and decency. As aesthetic clinics often offer body treatments that require a patient to undress, or to expose certain intimate areas to their practitioner, it is therefore acceptable for a clinic to opt to employ female practitioners to treat their female patients.

Unless there is a justifiable argument for a dress code to be broken for reasons relating to the Equality Act, then employers can set and enforce rules about appearance at work. For example, apart from something that could be classed as a ‘religious marking’, it is acceptable for business owners to prohibit visible tattoos. It may be classified as discrimination if an employer creates dress code rules that are clearly biased in terms of sex or age, however. It is acceptable to create a dress code based upon business needs and professionalism; it should not be based on your own personal preferences.

Discrimination can be positive, too. If you have two equally strong job applicants and you make your final choice based on balancing out a race or gender imbalance in your workforce, then this may be seen as positive discrimination.

How should I prepare for a complaint?

As an employer, you need to ensure that you avoid discrimination and put policies in place so your employees are aware of what is unacceptable behaviour, by you or by them. You should have an equal opportunities policy that details the rights and responsibilities of the employer and the employee, and make it visible to staff members in their contracts, as well as in the company or employee handbooks.

Even if you have a happy team and have never needed to follow a complaints process, it is wise to have a process in place so managers understand how complaints should be dealt with, should one occur. You may think of drafting a complaints process for patients, but don’t forget that you should have one in place for employees, too.

How should I deal with a complaint?

It is an employer’s duty to investigate any claims of misconduct in the workplace. Even if you have an inkling that someone is guilty or innocent, you should deal with complaints in an objective manner. Do not take any action or place blame until you have assessed the situation. Speak to those involved and those who have witnessed events, gather evidence, and document the details before making any judgement. If the case is serious, you should get legal advice on the matter.

I am a clinic manager, what happens if I am falsley accused of discrimination?

There is a chance that a disgruntled employee could lodge a false complaint or that an employee may misunderstand what constitutes discrimination. If you are falsely accused of discriminating against a team member, record all information you have, provide an objective report on events as you have experienced them, don’t do anything to retaliate, and wait for your manager or employer to consider the facts.

A time limit applies to raising a case for discrimination, so a worker only has three months from the date of the last instance of discrimination, and only under exception circumstances could this be reconsidered. If you are formally accused of workplace discrimination and you believe this to be a false accusation, seek legal advice.

All employers should be aware that it is not legally acceptable to have a bias against a job applicant or employee because of the colour of their skin, their gender, or their sexuality, but, unfortunately, there are still many acts of workplace discrimination taking place. Don’t take it for granted that you know what constitutes discrimination in the workplace, make sure you have a company policy that both you and your employees understand, and abide by.

What constitutes discrimination?

Discrimination is when a distinction made is based on a group someone belongs to – gender, religion, age, and so on – rather than their individual merits. The Equality Act 2010 includes nine ‘protected characteristics’: age, disability, gender reassignment, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, race, marriage and partnership, pregnancy and maternity. The act applies to all workers, including employees and freelancers, directors and trainees, and applicants in the hiring process, and covers all areas of employment.

Discrimination is divided into that which is ‘direct’, where an employer is overtly discriminatory, and that which is ‘indirect’, where a group is not singled out in an obvious manner but is excluded anyway due to a stipulation in a job specification or company policy. For example, if you need someone to sit behind a desk and complete administrative duties, then you are unlikely to have any justified business reason for specifying that they should be female or able- bodied, as the job could be performed by someone male or disabled. This would be an example of direct discrimination. If you specify that an aesthetic therapist must have National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and will not accept qualifications recognised as the equivalent to these by British examining bodies and insurers, then that could mean you are indirectly discriminating against those who are from countries that do not operate the NVQ system.

Remember that the Equality Act does not only cover your current employees, it covers applicants and interviewees for vacancies at your clinic, too. When you advertise a vacancy, make sure your essential requirements really are essential to the job and are not inadvertently discriminatory.

Do you have a justifiable business reason for needing someone ‘young and energetic’, or do they simply need to have a good level of enthusiasm and self-motivation?

You should not set different interview questions for male and female applicants, or ask specific questions based on someone’s age or personal circumstances. Your hiring process should be designed to identify the capability to perform the specified job, not to provide you with a picture of someone’s personal life. For example, you should not ask a young, recently married woman if she plans to have children.

Is discrimination ever acceptable?

This may sound like a silly question, but the answer is yes. Discrimination is acceptable where there is a justified business reason for doing so. Discriminating against someone because of their gender is acceptable in certain circumstances, and one of those applies very clearly to many cosmetic clinics. Certain jobs can require a person of a particular sex to fill that role due to reasons of privacy and decency. As aesthetic clinics often offer body treatments that require a patient to undress, or to expose certain intimate areas to their practitioner, it is therefore acceptable for a clinic to opt to employ female practitioners to treat their female patients.

Unless there is a justifiable argument for a dress code to be broken for reasons relating to the Equality Act, then employers can set and enforce rules about appearance at work. For example, apart from something that could be classed as a ‘religious marking’, it is acceptable for business owners to prohibit visible tattoos. It may be classified as discrimination if an employer creates dress code rules that are clearly biased in terms of sex or age, however. It is acceptable to create a dress code based upon business needs and professionalism; it should not be based on your own personal preferences.

Discrimination can be positive, too. If you have two equally strong job applicants and you make your final choice based on balancing out a race or gender imbalance in your workforce, then this may be seen as positive discrimination.

How should I prepare for a complaint?

As an employer, you need to ensure that you avoid discrimination and put policies in place so your employees are aware of what is unacceptable behaviour, by you or by them. You should have an equal opportunities policy that details the rights and responsibilities of the employer and the employee, and make it visible to staff members in their contracts, as well as in the company or employee handbooks.

Even if you have a happy team and have never needed to follow a complaints process, it is wise to have a process in place so managers understand how complaints should be dealt with, should one occur. You may think of drafting a complaints process for patients, but don’t forget that you should have one in place for employees, too.

How should I deal with a complaint?

It is an employer’s duty to investigate any claims of misconduct in the workplace. Even if you have an inkling that someone is guilty or innocent, you should deal with complaints in an objective manner. Do not take any action or place blame until you have assessed the situation. Speak to those involved and those who have witnessed events, gather evidence, and document the details before making any judgement. If the case is serious, you should get legal advice on the matter.

I am a clinic manager, what happens if I am falsley accused of discrimination?

There is a chance that a disgruntled employee could lodge a false complaint or that an employee may misunderstand what constitutes discrimination. If you are falsely accused of discriminating against a team member, record all information you have, provide an objective report on events as you have experienced them, don’t do anything to retaliate, and wait for your manager or employer to consider the facts.

A time limit applies to raising a case for discrimination, so a worker only has three months from the date of the last instance of discrimination, and only under exception circumstances could this be reconsidered. If you are formally accused of workplace discrimination and you believe this to be a false accusation, seek legal advice.