Question

Would the manager ever be justified in not hiring the female appli-
cant? If so, what would those circumstances be?

Answer 1

Answer :

Sex discrimination : This is when you are treated differently because of your sex, in certain situations covered by the Equality Act 2010. The treatment could be a one-off action or could be caused by a rule or policy. It doesn’t have to be intentional to be unlawful. There are some circumstances when being treated differently due to sex is lawful.

Circumstances when being treated differently due to sex is lawful

The Equality Act has some exceptions that allow employers or organisations to discriminate because of your sex.

A difference in treatment may be lawful if:

• Being a particular sex is essential for a job.
  This is called an occupational requirement. This includes some jobs which require someone of a particular sex for reasons of privacy and decency or where personal services are provided. For example, a gym could employ a changing room attendant that is the same sex as the users of that room.
  
• An organisation is taking positive action.
  Positive action might be used to encourage or develop people of a sex that is under-represented or disadvantaged in a role or activity. For example, an engineering firm places a job advert for a trainee engineer stating that applications from women are welcome.

Other exceptions

The armed forces can refuse to employ a woman, or limit her access to training or promotion if it means they can ensure the combat effectiveness of the armed forces.

In competitive sports the organisers can hold separate events for men and women because the differences in stamina, strength and physique would otherwise make the competition unfair.

There are several situations in which an organisation can lawfully provide single sex services. In all circumstances they must be able to justify it. For example:

• offering a women-only support service to victims of domestic violence who are women is likely to be justifiable even if there is no parallel service for men due to insufficient demand

A religious organisation can sometimes restrict employment to one sex if the role is for religious purposes. For example:

• an orthodox synagogue can require its rabbi to be a man