Discrimination: your rights

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How you can be discriminated against

Discrimination can come in one of the following forms:

  • direct discrimination - treating someone with a protected characteristic less favourably than others
  • indirect discrimination - putting rules or arrangements in place that apply to everyone, but that put someone with a protected characteristic at an unfair disadvantage
  • harassment - unwanted behaviour linked to a protected characteristic that violates someone’s dignity or creates an offensive environment for them
  • victimisation - treating someone unfairly because they’ve complained about discrimination or harassment

It can be lawful to have specific rules or arrangements in place, as long as they can be justified.