Discrimination: 25 FAQs

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1. Can I not just follow my instincts, when it comes to selecting amongst job applicants?
2. Can I exclude a couple of men who have applied for jobs normally done by women?
3. Can I give jobs to older women, who will not get pregnant?
4. We prefer to take on younger workers, even though we sometimes get applications from older workers who are better qualified. Is this illegal?
5. Do we have to include an otherwise suitable job applicant on the short list if we know he has had a recent brush with cancer?
6. What do we do about an otherwise well-qualified candidate for a job dealing with customers, who turns out to have a severe facial disfigurement?
7. What is meant by the duty to make 'reasonable adjustments'?
8. We have few workers from ethnic minorities, although they make up a high proportion of the local population. Can we advertise specifically to them?
9. We have a mixed workforce. Can we ask people to take literacy tests, as a recruitment requirement?
10. Are we vulnerable to a charge of discrimination if an older manager never gets a bonus because he never gets awarded enough points by his peers?
11. Are we vulnerable to a charge of harassment because a black worker has heard a couple of colleagues making cracks about coloured people?
12. Can we be sued for discrimination on grounds of nationality, because we have refused to confirm the contract of a Kurdish refugee?
13. Is it discrimination if we refuse flexible working for a worker with a disabled relative?
14. We have a female employee on her third official warning. She now says she is pregnant. Can we proceed with disciplinary action?
15. If a woman wants to come back to work on a part-time basis, after having a child, is she entitled to the same benefits as before?
16. We had two mothers and one pregnant woman amongst recent redundancies. Now they are claiming sex discrimination. Should we be worried?
17. It is several months since we sacked a black employee who left claiming race discrimination. We have heard nothing since. Can we relax?
18. What are the penalties for a finding of discrimination?
19. How long is it likely to be before a case comes to a tribunal, and how much will it cost to defend?
20. How can we demonstrate that we oppose discrimination? And would it help if we were ever subject to a case?
21. Apart from sex, race, disability and ethnic origin, are there any other forms of discrimination that we have to look out for?
22. Some of our employees have been refusing to work with a colleague who is gay. What can we do?
23. We have a woman worker who gets a lot of fairly good-natured ribbing because she has short hair and wears trousers, though she is not in fact gay. Do we have to put a stop to the jokes?
24. We have several Muslim workers. Do we have to give them time off on Fridays to go to the mosque?
25. We have a good worker who has missed some training sessions because of his religious duties, and will not therefore be considered for promotion. Will that cause us problems?

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