The Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2011 outlaw discrimination in a wide range of employment and employment-related areas. These include recruitment and promotion; equal pay; working conditions; training or experience; dismissal and harassment including sexual harassment. The legislation defines discrimination as treating one person in a less favourable way than another person based on any of the following 9 grounds:
Discrimination is defined as less favourable treatment. An employee is said to be discriminated against if he/she is treated less favourably than another is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation on any of the above 9 grounds. To establish direct discrimination, a direct comparison must be made, for example, in the case of disability discrimination the comparison must be between a person who has a disability and another who has not, or between persons with different disabilities.
Indirect discrimination occurs when practices or policies that do not appear to discriminate against one group more than another actually have a discriminatory impact. It can also happen where a requirement that may appear non-discriminatory adversely affects a particular group or class of persons.
Disability: Employers are obliged to make reasonable accommodations for staff with disabilities. This includes providing access to employment, enabling people with disabilities to participate in employment including promotion, and training.
Pregnancy: Pregnancy-related discrimination is discrimination on the ground of gender and includes recruitment, promotion and general conditions of employment. Women who are pregnant or have recently given birth are also protected under maternity protection and unfair dismissals legislation.
Harassment including sexual harassment that is based on any of the above 9 grounds is a form of discrimination in relation to conditions of employment. Bullying at work which is linked to one of the 9 discriminatory grounds above comes under employment equality legislation.
Victimisation: Under employment equality legisation you are protected against victimisation if you bring a claim or are involved in a complaint of unlawful discrimination against your employer. This means that your employer may not penalise you by dismissal, unfair treatment or an unfavourable change in your conditions of employment.
The Equality Authority and the Equality Tribunal are separate organisations that work to ensure equality at work.
The Equality Authority is a statutory body set up to work towards the elimination of unlawful discrimination, to promote equality of opportunity and to provide information to the public on equality legislation. It can advise and support you to bring a claim to the Equality Tribunal but it has no power to decide a case. It can, at its discretion, provide legal assistance to people who wish to bring claims to the Equality Tribunal. You can find the booklet, Your Employment Equality Rights Explained on the Equality Authority website.
The Equality Tribunal is the place to bring a discrimation claim using the new single complaint form. It investigates or mediates claims of unlawful discrimination under the equality legislation.