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Employment Law Solicitors - Sex Discrimination Claims
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Employment Law Solicitors:
Sex Discrimination Claims
The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (SDA) outlaws sex
discrimination in the employment sphere and other
areas. It applies to men and women regardless of
age.
The Sex Discrimination Act 1975
(hereafter referred to as the "SDA")
The SDA outlaws direct sex discrimination, indirect
sex discrimination, and victimisation of those who
attempt to enforce their rights under Act. Other
legislation addresses the issues of harassment,
gender reassignment, and pregnancy and maternity.
Direct Sex Discrimination
This is where a woman (or man) is treated less
favourably than a person of the opposite sex in
comparable circumstances because of their gender
(e.g. dismissing a woman because she is pregnant).
Indirect Sex Discrimination
Indirect sex discrimination is where a seemingly
gender neutral requirement or procedure
disproportionately disadvantages one sex more than
the other in practice and which the employer cannot
justify as a proportionate means of achieving a
valid objective (e.g. a height requirement which
women are proportionately less able to meet).
Victimisation
Victimisation of those who assert their rights under
the SDA or Equal Pay Act 1970 is unlawful.
Discriminatory Advertising
It is unlawful to publish an advertisement
indicating an intention to discriminate unlawfully.
Equal Pay
The Equal Pay Act 1970 (EPA) provides employees with
the right to equal pay when compared with employees
of the opposite gender. For further details, see the
equal pay page
Pregnancy and Maternity Leave
Dismissal of an employee because she is pregnant or for going on
maternity leave constitutes both direct sex discrimination
and automatic unfair dismissal regardless of how long the employee
has worked for her employer. As there is a maximum limit on
the level of compensation that can be awarded for unfair
dismissal but no limit on compensation for sex
discrimination, a woman dismissed in these circumstances
should ensure that she brings a claim for both sex
discrimination and unfair dismissal.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is defined under the Employment Equality
(Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005 as conduct which
violates the victims dignity or creates an intimidating,
hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for
them.
Gender reassignment
Discrimination against transsexuals who have undergone
gender reassignment (i.e. a sex change) or who are or are
about to undergo it constitutes sex discrimination and is
therefore unlawful.
Sexual orientation
Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is
prohibited by The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation)
Regulations 2003.
Bringing A Sex Discrimination Claim
A tribunal claim must be made within three months of the
discriminatory act (or last discriminatory act) complained
of. Unlike in
unfair dismissal claims, employees do not have to have had
at least 1 years continuous service with the employer to be
entitled to bring the claim. Should the employees claim be
successful, the tribunal can make recommendations and award
compensation. Should the employer fail to comply with
recommendations made by the tribunal for action to reduce
discrimination without reasonable justification, the
tribunal can award additional compensation on top of what it
may have already awarded. Compensation awards in
discrimination cases are unlimited and unlike in unfair
dismissal cases, there is no such thing as a 'basic' or
'compensatory' award. Instead, the award normally comprises
the following:-
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Injury to Feelings: Comprise separate awards for
hurt feelings, aggravated damages, and injury to health.
The criteria for assessing compensation for hurt
feelings were set out by the Court of Appeal in the case
of Vento v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire (No.2)
(2003). In that case, the Court stated that there should
be a top band of between £15,000.00 and £25,000.00 for
the most serious cases, a middle band of between
£5,000.00 and £15,000.00 for serious cases, and awards
of between £500.00 and £5,000.00 for less serious and
one-off cases. The Court stated that awards of less than
£500.00 should be avoided. An injury to health claim can
be incorporated into the injury to feelings claim, but
should there be a separate award for it, the tribunal
has to ensure that there is no element of duplication.
Finally, aggravated damages can also be awarded as part
of the injury to feelings claim, although awards for
this element do not usually exceed £5,000.00 and are
only awarded should the employers conduct have been
especially cruel and malicious.
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Loss of Earnings: Normally makes up the bulk of
the claim and includes both actual and future loss of
earnings. Future loss can be extensive where psychiatric
injury has been sustained as a result of the
discrimination and makes it difficult for the employee
to obtain new and appropriate employment.
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Injury to Health (Personal Injury): Is most
commonly for psychiatric injury. Nevertheless, where a
claim for personal injury is included, the employee
loses the right to bring a claim in the civil courts
for it.
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Ancillary Losses: These can be for items such as
the cost of looking for alternative employment and
pension loss.
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Interest: Interest on the compensation award can
be claimed
What To Do If You Have A Sex Discrimination Claim
Should you have a claim for sex discrimination, then please call one of our solicitors immediately on 07919 561266. They will discuss your sex discrimination claim with you and will be able to determine what the prospects of success are in terms of bringing a successful claim for sex discrimination. Should you have an sex discrimination claim with good prospects of success, they will then go through with you what you should do next in detail.
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The Employment Law
Solicitors, the brand, is part of Antrobus
Solicitors, a firm regulated by the Solicitors
Regulation Authority. Details of the
professional rules which regulate solicitors can
be found at the following website address:
http://www.rules.sra.org.uk
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Areas Where We Have A Centre
Local To You
Carlisle (sex discrimination solicitors here), Worcester, Durham
(employment law solicitor here), Lincoln, Hereford
(sex discrimination solicitors here), Canterbury
(employment law solicitor here), Litchfield, Ripon (sex discrimination solicitors here), Bangor
(sex discrimination solicitors here), Wells, St. David's, Luton
(sex discrimination solicitors here), Bedford, Bedfordshire,
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Dorset,
Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Kent, Leicestershire,
Lincolnshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire,
Shropshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Sussex, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, Reading, Newbury, Anglesey, Gwent, Clwyd, Gwynedd,
Dyfed, Powys, Bath, Brighton, Cambridge, Oxford (employment law
solicitor here), Plymouth, Southampton,
Stratford, York, Glamorgan, Cheltenham, Bradford, Wakefield, Coventry, Leicester, Sunderland, Hull
(employment law solicitor here), Wolverhampton (sex discrimination solicitors here), Swansea, Salford, Ipswich
(employment law solicitor here),
Portsmouth (sex discrimination solicitors here), Peterborough, Lancaster, Newport, Preston, St. Albans,
Norwich, Chester, Salisbury, Exeter, Gloucester, Chichester, Winchester
(employment law solicitor here),
Cleveland, Tyne and Wear, Northumbria, Wrexham, Cardiff, Manchester
(sex discrimination solicitors here),
Liverpool, London (sex discrimination solicitors here), Birmingham
(sex discrimination solicitors here), Derby
(sex discrimination solicitors here), Bradford, Cheshire, Lancashire,
Yorkshire, Newcastle, Birmingham, Devon, Cornwall, Sheffield (employment
law solicitor here),
Staffordshire, Leeds (sex discrimination solicitors
here), Nottingham, Bristol (employment law solicitor here), Stoke
(sex discrimination solicitors here).
We can also do home visits. Please see a list of areas in which we
conduct home visits on our local
contact points page
Local Centres Where We Can Offer Appointments Out Of Hours
At the following Local Centres, we can also offer appointments outside
the normal office hours of 9am - 5pm:-
- Manchester Business Park, Manchester
- Exchange Quay, Manchester
- King Street, Manchester
- Exchange Flags, Liverpool
- Cheadle Royal Business Park, Cheadle, Cheshire
- Chester Business Park, Chester, Cheshire
- Crab Lane, Warrington, Cheshire
- City West, Bradford
- Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent
- The Pavillions, Preston, Lancashire
- Thopre Park Business Park, Colton, Yorkshire
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- Newcastle Quayside, Newcastle
- Victoria Square, Birmingham
- Exeter Business Park, Exeter, Devon
- Cambourne, Cornwall
- Hammersmith Road, London
- Eccleshall Road, Sheffield
- Princes Exchange, Leeds
- Dumfries Place, Cardiff
- Aztec West, Temple Quay, Bristol
- Pegasus Business Park, Nottingham
- Watling Court, Cannock, Staffordshire
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