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Sexual Discrimination Act
 

What is the Sexual Discrimination Act?

The Sexual Discrimination Act of 1975 was introduced to protect individuals from discrimination on the grounds of sex. Today, the relevant legislation includes the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, along with amendments such as the Sex Discrimination (Indirect Discrimination and Burden of Proof) Regulations 2001, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Amendment) Regulations 2003, the Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005 and the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Amendment) Regulations 2008.                                                                                                             

The Sexual Discrimination Act was also amended after the introduction of the Gender Recognition Act in 2004 to protect transgender individuals.

What is Sexual Discrimination?

Sexual Discrimination can take many forms. It is essential to understand that sexual discrimination is judged to be unwanted attention by the victim of the behaviour, not the perpetrator. There are many ways in which sexual discrimination can occur.

Direct sexual discrimination occurs when:

  •  A company employs or promotes a male worker with fewer qualifications or less experience over a female worker.
  •  A man or woman is demoted upon their return from paternity or maternity le 
  •  A man or woman is omitted from social or corporate events due to the group consisting of mostly females or males.
  •  A woman who is not offered employment due to the nature of the work i.e. physical or ‘dirty’ work.

Indirect sexual discrimination occurs when:

An organisation’s working policies or methods put male or female workers at a disadvantage i.e. creating full-time working patterns only, height or weight restrictions, or the requirement to relocate or work unsociable hours where a mother has childcare commitments.

Sexual Harassment includes:

Verbal harassment such as:

  • Comments about appearance, body or clothing.
  • Indecent remarks.
  • Questions about your sex life.
  • Assurances or threats concerning employment conditions in relation to sexual favours.

Non-verbal harassment such as

  •  Looking or staring at a person’s body.
  •  Display of sexually explicit material such as calendars, posters or magazines.

Physical harassment such as:

  •  Unwelcome physical contact such as hugging, caressing, kissing, or groping.
  •  Sexual assault
  •  Rape

Victimisation occurs when a person is treated less favourably than another in similar circumstances due to their suspected, actual or previous involvement in a ‘protected act’. A protected act may be:

  •   Bringing legal proceedings against a discriminator
  •   Given evidence or information against a discriminator
  •   Made allegations that a discriminator has contravened the Sexual Discrimination Act, including raising a grievance of sexual discrimination.

What can I do about Sexual Discrimination?

Cases of sexual discrimination are more commonplace now due to increased awareness of legislation allowing appeals against such acts. Employees now feel a greater level of protection in confronting a manager or organisation. Despite this, there are still instances of sexual discrimination that remain unreported. It is vital to understand that sexual discrimination is unlawful and must be challenged.

If you feel you are being discriminated against, you should consider the following steps:

  • Serving a Sexual Discrimination questionnaire on the perpetrator. This can be useful where an employer is the discriminating party, and can result in an inference of unlawful discrimination in the case of evasive or missing replies.
  •  Speak directly with the harasser or your employer. Request that the behaviour is ceased immediately. Speak calmly and slowly, and maintain eye contact. A formal discussion about the situation is often all that is needed.
  •  If the behaviour continues, make a note of dates, times, locations etc of the discriminatory behaviour. This will allow for a more documented claim against the behaviour.
  •  If you feel you cannot confront the perpetrator alone, ask a friend, colleague or union representative for moral support.

Who is liable?

In cases of sexual discrimination, it is usually the employer who will be given full legal responsibility should a claim be upheld. In the cases of sexual harassment from an employee (be they a single colleague, group of colleagues or in a managerial position) then both the harassing party and the company would be held responsible.

What if the behaviour continues?

If you have requested a cessation of the behaviour, and you have already discussed the matter with your employer, then an external tribunal claim would be the next step.

A tribunal is an external, unbiased committee who carry out an investigation into a claim to assess whether a party has acted unlawfully and seek to resolve the issue.

When should I contact a tribunal?

You should contact a discrimination tribunal if you are unsatisfied with an organisation’s efforts to address the problem.

If the discrimination is from an individual such as a work colleague, your employer should look to take disciplinary action against them through a company grievance procedure. If the discrimination is a result of your employer’s regulations, then it may be necessary to challenge these through a tribunal.

If a tribunal finds you have been unlawfully discriminated against, it has the power to:

  • Recommend that the employer take a particular course of action
  • Re-instate your position if dismissal has occurred
  • Provide compensation for loss of earnings, injury to feelings and injury to health (where applicable).

It is vital to know that if you wish to make a claim to an independent tribunal, you must do so within three months, less one day of the behaviour in question occurring. If an internal grievance procedure has not been completed before a claim is lodged, then any resulting compensation could be reduced.

What if a claim makes people dislike me?

There is no need to worry about repercussions following a case of sexual discrimination: the law provides protection against this. It is important to understand that, whilst there have been many amendments to the Act of 1975, many people are too afraid to speak out against sexual discrimination. This is unfortunate, but ultimately, there are laws which exist to protect you.

    
 

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