The Equality Act identifies nine protected characteristics which are: age, disability, race, sex, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief and sexual orientation. Our team of specialist employment lawyers have extensive experience with assisting employers with discrimination claims and can assist and support you with defending a discrimination claim.
Discrimination & Equality
Herrington Carmichael is a full service law firm offering legal advice to UK and international businesses as well as individuals and families.
Advice on Discrimination at Work
We advise employees on whether they have experienced unlawful discrimination, including:
- Sex discrimination
- Pregnancy and maternity discrimination
- Disability discrimination and failures to make reasonable adjustments
- Race discrimination
- Age discrimination
- Sexual orientation discrimination
- Religion or belief discrimination
- Gender reassignment discrimination
- Marriage and civil partnership discrimination
This includes advice on direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, victimisation and unfavourable treatment.
Preventative Advice and Risk Management
A key part of our work is helping employers reduce the risk of claims before issues escalate. We assist with:
- Reviewing and drafting equality, diversity and harassment policies
- Training managers and HR teams on discrimination risks and lawful decision‑making
- Advising on recruitment, promotion, redundancy and performance management processes
- Pregnancy, maternity and health‑related risk assessments
- Managing adjustments and flexibility requests
We aim to embed compliance within day‑to‑day workplace practices.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to your most pressing questions about our services and processes.
If the employee is successful at an Employment Tribunal, how much can they be awarded?
An award for discrimination at the Employment Tribunal is uncapped. However, when considering the award, the Employment Tribunal will take into consideration the Vento bands which indicate the level of compensation that should be awarded for the level of discrimination that has been suffered by the employee.
The bands re reviewed yearly, from 6 April 2026 the bands are as follows:
- A lower band of £1100 to £11,200 for less serious cases;
- A middle band of £11,200 to £33,700 for cases that do not merit an award in the upper band;
- An upper band of £33,700 to £56,200. In exceptional circumstances the Employment Tribunal may award more than £56,200.
Therefore, a one off act of discrimination is likely to attract an award in the lower band whilst multiple acts of discrimination will attract an award within the higher band.
What different types of discrimination are there?
There are different types of discrimination that an employee can bring against a Company;
- Direct Discrimination – treating someone less favourably than others because of a protected characteristic;
- Indirect Discrimination – imposing a provision, criterion, or practice that puts individuals with a protected characteristic at a disadvantage;
- Harassment – Unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment.
- Victimisation – Treating someone unfairly because they have asserted their rights under the Equality Act, such as filing a discrimination complaint or supporting someone who has;
- Discrimination arising from disability – Treating a disabled person unfavourably because of something arising from, or in consequence of, their disability;
- Failure to make reasonable adjustments – Failure to accommodate the needs of a disabled person, where such adjustments would prevent a substantial disadvantage.
- Associative Discrimination – Treating someone unfairly because they are associated with someone who has a protected characteristic.
- Perceptive Discrimination – Treating someone unfairly based on the perception that they have a particular protected characteristic, even if they do not.
Can I be liable for the actions of my employees?
Yes, you can. You are likely to be vicariously liable for the discriminatory actions of your employees if those actions fall within the scope of employment or in the course of their work-related duties. You may also be liable if you have failed to prevent or address discrimination within your workplace. This may include the failure to implement equal opportunity and harassment and bullying policies, failing to investigate complaints of discrimination adequately and failure to take the appropriate and corrective action.