Pride Month: Steps Employers Should Take in their Workplaces
June 5, 2024
Our employment law experts share their tips on what employers should be doing to ensure they are not breaching any discrimination laws in terms of sexual orientation and gender reassignment.
What does the law say?
Sexual orientation and gender reassignment are recognised protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. This means that it is unlawful to discriminate against an individual in the workplace because of these characteristics.
The following types of discrimination are prohibited in the workplace:
Discrimination in the workplace is prohibited in all aspects of employment; from the initial recruitment process, to treatment of employees on a day-to-day basis, as well as during redundancies and dismissals.
Employees can bring a legal claim against their employer if they are discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender reassignment.
What should employers do?
To avoid any discrimination claims, employers should:
Employers should know that, with certain types of discrimination claims, they need not have intended to discriminate for an employee to bring a claim against them. For this reason, employers should be careful to consider the fairness of a policy or practice, before introducing it in the workplace.
If you require any further advice on any of the above, contact a member of our employment team, Bríd Price on 029 2082 9113 or bprice@darwingray.com for a free initial chat to see how we can help you.