The Valla guide to

Direct Discrimination

Direct discrimination at work happens when an employee with a protected characteristic is treated less favourably than if they didn’t have that protected characteristic.

Where to start

What is the difference between direct and indirect discrimination?

The Equality Act 2010 classifies “direct” and “indirect” discrimination separately. Learn how to identify the different types of discrimination to help your case.

5 minute read

Video lessons from Valla

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Examples of real direct discrimination cases

Real examples of employment tribunal claims for workplace discrimination, and why they succeeded or failed.

Age
- Two real examples of direct age discrimination and what happened next
  We look at a couple of different examples of direct age discrimination that have been brought to the Employment Tribunal, and why the claims failed or succeeded.
  
  7 minute read
Race
- Two real examples of racism at work and what happened next
  In this article, we look at two real UK examples of direct race discrimination claims. We explore which arguments were successful, which failed, and why.
  
  8 minute read
Sexual orientation
- Emilia's direct sexual orientation discrimination claim
  Emilia had been forced to hide her sexuality at work after being told the owner was "old school". She took her employer to Tribunal after being made redundant.
  
  4 minute read
Gender reassignment
- Victoria's direct gender reassignment discrimination
  Victoria faced a toxic workplace that constantly harassed her about her gender reassignment. Find out how she fared in her Tribunal case against them.
  
  5 minute read
Pregnancy and maternity
- Yasmin's direct pregnancy and maternity discrimination claim
  Yasmin faced a lot of negative comments and behaviours at work after telling her employer she was pregnant. When she was dismissed, she fought back at Tribunal.
  
  4 minute read
Sex and gender
- Charlotte's direct sex discrimination case
  Charlotte faced direct sex discrimination at her place of work when she refused to wear a "skimpy" uniform. Find out how her Tribunal case went.
  
  4 minute read
Disability
- Harold's direct disability discrimination case
  Harold had been dismissed from his job after his employer failed to make reasonable adjustments at work. Learn how his Tribunal case went.
  
  4 minute read
Religion or Belief
- Gianna's direct religion or belief discrimination case
  Gianna was employed at a conservative Jewish nursery for years. She was dismissed after her employer found out she was cohabiting with her boyfriend. Learn if this was legal.
  
  4 minute read

How to take action

Make a tribunal claim for direct discrimination
When you are claiming direct discrimination at Tribunal, you want to clearly argue that you have been treated unfairly because of a protected characteristic. Use this guide to help you through the process of making a direct discrimination claim.

Templates you can use in direct discrimination cases

These document and letter templates are useful in cases of direct discrimination.

Grievance letter template
Raise a grievance with confidence using our letter template.

£7.99
Data Subject Access Request DSAR letter template
Need to send a Data Subject Access Request letter? Claim your FREE DSAR letter template, including a video course on how and when to use a DSAR letter.

Free
ET1 Particulars of Claim template
Get your ET1 Particulars of Claim right with our template.

£39.99

Help a friend or colleague

Become a discrimination first aider
Become a first responder in times of crisis – someone that others can come to for help, trained in the basics of what rights employees have, discrimination law and work and what steps they can take next.
How to support friends having a tough time at work
Helping your friend or family member through work-related issues can be tricky. Find out how best you can support them during these tough times.

6 minute read