Employment law and relations - Essay Example

5). Essentially discrimination occurs contrary to the provisions contained in the Equality Act 2010 when an individual receives ‘less favourable treatment’ on the basis of one or more protected characteristics (Wadham, et al., 2010, p. 32). Less favourable treatment refers to direct discrimination. Whereas indirect discrimination refers to outcomes where activities might on its face, be non-discriminatory, but nevertheless puts an individual with a protected characteristic at an unfair disadvantage.

In addition to direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimization against individuals with a protected characteristic are also prohibited under the Equality Act 2010 (Sargeant, 2013, p. 51). The regulatory framework contained in the Equality Act 2010 provides different rules for establishing direct and indirect discrimination (Collins, 2010, p. 56). This paper critically analyses unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 in the organizational context and discusses its advantages and limitations.

In particular, this paper will focus on the protected characteristics of disability, sexual orientation and religion and belief. The main question for consideration is how, and on what grounds is unlawful discrimination established in the organizational context. Discrimination on the grounds of disability is unique in that while equality contemplates equal treatment for those with protected, characteristics, the law ‘does not expect’ non-discriminatory treatment and consequences to arise out of treating persons with disabilities in exactly the same way as other individuals (Hepple, 2010, p. 17). As Hepple (2010) points out, the law recognizes that disabled persons have ‘special needs’ (p. 17). In this regard, a disabled person can expect special treatment which will not give rise to others claiming less favourable treatment in comparison to the special treatment conferred upon disabled persons in similar circumstances (Hepple,