Question

what is direct and what is indirect discrimination? Give at least four examples of each( 300words total)

Answer 1

Discrimination is defined as showing of partiality or prejudice in treatment; action or policies directed against the welfare of minority people.

Indirect discrimination:

Indirect It’s when you’re treated in the same way as everyone else, but it has a worse effect on you because of certain reasons - for example, because you’re black or gay.

The law which says you mustn’t be discriminated against is called the Equality Act 2010.

Indirect discrimination is when a healthcare or care provider has a practice, policy or rule which applies to all it’s patients and clients, but it has a worse effect on some people than others becuase of who they are.

You can challenge indirect discrimination if it has a worse effect on you because of your:

age

disability

gender reassignment

race

religion or belief

sex

sexual orientation.

The Equality Act calls these things protected characteristics.

It’s not just individual staff who mustn’t discriminate against you - for example, when a General Physician makes a decision on how to treat you. Healthcare and care providers must also make sure they don’t discriminate against you when they plan their services. If they decide to do things a certain way or adopt rules which have a worse effect on some people than others, this could be indirect discrimination.

Examples:

1. A general physician surgery requires patients to provide proof of address when registering. This applies to all new patients regardless of their protected characteristic. But Gypsies and Travellers are less likely to be able to provide a proof of address and therefore they’ll find it more difficult to register.

This could be indirect discrimination against Gypsies and Travellers because of the protected characteristic of race. The rule seems fair, but it has a worse effect on this particular group of people.

You’re an Irish Traveller and want to register with the surgery. You could challenge this policy because you’re personally affected by it.

2.Your disability means that you sometimes behave aggressively. Your home care provider has a policy which says its staff are allowed to refuse to provide certain services in case of aggressive behaviour by the client. This policy applies to all the clients, but it's likely to have a worse effect on some disabled people.

If your home carer refuses to provide you with a service because of your behaviour, this could be indirect discrimination unless they could justify their policy. This could also be discrimination because ofsomething connected to your disability. You're discriminated against because of your behaviour which is connected to your disability.

Both indirect discrimination and discrimination because of something connected to your disability can be justified by the service provider if they have a good enough reason.

3. There’s a clause in your contract which says you may have to travel around the UK at short notice. It’s difficult for you to do this because you’re a woman with young children. This clause therefore places you at a particular disadvantage. It also places women generally at a disadvantage, as they’re more likely to be the carers of children.

You could challenge the clause because it affects you personally, even if you’ve not been asked to travel at short notice yet.

4.Your optician has a rule which allows payment for glasses by instalments for those in work. This rule applies to all their customers regardless of their protected characteristics. This is the pool for comparison. You’re not working because you’re a pensioner and so are not allowed to pay by instalments. The rule therefore places you at a disadvantage. It also disadvantages other pensioners who want to buy glasses by instalments.

Being a pensioner falls under the protected characteristic of age. This could be indirect discrimination, as one group of people who share the protected characteristic of age are particularly disadvantaged compared to another group.

Direct discrimination:

If you’ve been treated differently and worse by a healthcare or care provider because of who you are, this could be direct discrimination.

Direct discrimination is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. If you’ve experienced unlawful discrimination, you may be able to do something about it.

Direct discrimination is when a healthcare or care provider treats you differently and worse than someone else for certain reasons.

These reasons are:

Age

Disability

Gender reassignment

Pregnancy and maternity

Race

Religion or belief

Sex

Sexual orientation

Example:

1. You're of Asian origin. You've just found out that your private dentist has charged you more for the same treatment as one of your friends who's white British. You think this is because you're Asian.

If this is the case, it's direct discrimination. You've been treated differently and worse than your friend because of your race which is a protected characteristic. Direct discrimination is unlawful under the Equality Act and you can take action about it.

2. You’re a saleswoman and you inform your employer that you want to spend the rest of your life living as a man. As a result of this, you’re moved to a role without client contact against your wishes. This is less favorable treatment because of gender reassignment. It would still be less favorable treatment even if your employer were to increase your salary to make up for the loss of job status.

3.A new fathers’ support group is provided by a mental health authority because very few men go to the parents’ support group. This is a good enough reason for treating people differently because of their sex. You couldn't complain about unlawful discrimination if you were unable to go to this group because you're a woman.

4. In England and Wales, women aged 29-49 can have a cervical screening test every three years whereas women in the 50-64 age group are only invited every five years. The Equality Act allows this type of different treatment, as there’s clinical evidence to show that younger women are more at risk of developing cervical cancer. This is a good enough reason for treating you differently because of age.