Sexual orientation discrimination

Contents
1. Introduction 2. Who is protected? 3. Other resources

Legislation that came into force on 1st December 2003 offers protection for workers from discrimination and harassment at work on grounds of sexual orientation.

The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 (or Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (as amended)) outlaw discrimination and harassment on sexual orientation in large and small workplaces in Great Britain, both in the private and public sectors. They cover all aspects of the employment relationship, including recruitment, pay, working conditions, training, promotion, dismissal and references.

The law protects people from discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation: it covers orientations towards people of the same sex, people of the opposite sex, or people of both sexes. This means they protect lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and heterosexuals in employment and vocational training.

The legislation outlaws:

• Direct discrimination - treating people less favourably than others because of sexual orientation.
• Indirect discrimination - applying a provision, criteria or practice which disadvantages people of a particular sexual orientation and which is not justified in objective terms.
• Harassment - unwanted conduct that violates people's dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
• Victimisation - treating people less favourably because of action they have taken under or in connection with the new legislation - for example, if someone made a formal complaint of discrimination or gives evidence in a tribunal case.

The law covers perception of sexual orientation too, so it protects people who are assumed - correctly or incorrectly - to be of a particular sexual orientation. The law also protects people who are discriminated against because of the sexual orientation of the people with whom they associate, for example, their friends and family.

More information on the legislation can be found on the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) website (or the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment Statistics in Northern Ireland’s website ).

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) (or the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) in Northern Ireland) has produced guidance on how the regulations are meant to work in practice. This guidance includes good practice advice, including possible scenarios and frequently asked questions. More information on the guidance can be found on the ACAS website (or the LRA website ).