The Valla guide to

Discrimination at work

Discrimination guides

• 5 Examples of workplace behaviour that’s not okay

  Everyone deserves to be treated with respect at work. If you are worried about how you are being treated, here are just a few examples of behaviour that is not ok.

  10 minute read

• What is workplace harassment and how is it different from bullying?

  Bullying, harassment and discrimination have distinct meanings in UK law. Learn the differences, so you can gather the best evidence to defend yourself.

  6 minute read

• What is victimisation at work?

  In the UK, there are laws to protect you from being disadvantaged because you’ve stood up against discrimination. Learn about victimisation now.

  4 minute read

Video lessons from Valla

Examples of real discrimination cases

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

• Age

  • 2 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

  • Patrizia's indirect age discrimination case

    A 64-year-old woman was dismissed from her job and found her employer advertising for new staff aged 18-25. She went to Tribunal for age discrimination.

    4 minute read

• Disability

  • Two real examples of subtle disability discrimination at work and what happened next

    Disability discrimination is not always direct and obvious. We’ll look at some less obvious disability discrimination claims and why the arguments succeeded.

    7 minute read

  • 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

• 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 & 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

• 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.

    10 minute read

  • Security guards' indirect race discrimination claim

    A group of outsourced security guards weren't paid the same as their in-house colleagues. Learn how this policy was indirectly discriminatory towards non-white workers.

    3 minute read

• Sex & Gender

  • Two real cases of indirect sex discrimination at work and how things turned out

    Sex discrimination can be quite subtle. Here's a few examples of indirect sex discrimination brought to Employment Tribunals in the past.

    17 minute read

  • 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

• 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

• Direct Discrimination

  • 2 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

  • 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.

    10 minute read

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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.

    3 minute read

  • 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

  • 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

• Indirect Discrimination

  • Two real examples of subtle disability discrimination at work and what happened next

    Disability discrimination is not always direct and obvious. We’ll look at some less obvious disability discrimination claims and why the arguments succeeded.

    7 minute read

  • Two real cases of indirect sex discrimination at work and how things turned out

    Sex discrimination can be quite subtle. Here's a few examples of indirect sex discrimination brought to Employment Tribunals in the past.

    17 minute read

  • Two real cases of dress code discrimination and how they won their cases

    Dress codes can unintentionally discriminate employees based on a protected characteristic. We look at a few examples of dress code discrimination cases.

    11 minute read

  • Security guards' indirect race discrimination claim

    A group of outsourced security guards weren't paid the same as their in-house colleagues. Learn how this policy was indirectly discriminatory towards non-white workers.

    3 minute read

  • Patrizia's indirect age discrimination case

    A 64-year-old woman was dismissed from her job and found her employer advertising for new staff aged 18-25. She went to Tribunal for age discrimination.

    4 minute read

• Relgion 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.

    5 minute read

How to take action

• Make a tribunal claim for discrimination

  Submit a claim to the UK Employment Tribunal against your employer for discrimination.

Templates you can use in discrimination cases

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

• Grievance Letter template

  Raise a grievance with confidence using our letter template.

  £7.99

• Data Subject Access Request DSAR letter template

  Get the evidence you need to build your case with a Data Subject Access Request letter

  Free

• ET1 Particulars of Claim template

  Get your ET1 Particulars of Claim right with our template.

  £39.99

• Witness Statement (Claimant Version) template

  We guide you through writing your witness statement to best support your case. Use this if you are the Claimant in an Employment Tribunal claim.

  £39.99

• Witness Statement (Non-claimant Version) template

  Ask someone else to provide a witness statement with this guided template. Having other witnesses strengthens your Employment Tribunal claim.

  £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

Other useful resources

Reasonable adjustments at work — Scope

Your rights — Pregnant Then Screwed

Discrimination: your rights — GOV.UK

Discrimination — Citizens Advice

Hate crime — Citizens Advice