Workplace discrimination: Equality Act 2024 updates

Eden Scott is a team of recruitment professionals. While the information provided here is accurate to the best of our knowledge, it is intended for general guidance only. To ensure compliance with current and upcoming legislation, employers can consult with an HR or employment law specialist.

The Equality Act was introduced in 2010 to protect people from discrimination on the basis of certain characteristics, including at work.

These characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. 

In 2023, the Equality Act was updated - partially to reaffirm some of the protections against discrimination that some worried were in jeopardy post-Brexit. In addition, the changes reflect continued efforts to improve equality in the workplace. 

Changes came into effect in stages from 1 January 2024. In this article, we provide a brief overview of some of the recent changes, and provide tips on how employers and HR teams can stay compliant with the Equality Act updates.
 

Duty to prevent sexual harassment

As of October 26 2024, UK employers have a legal obligation to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment at work. Previously, the emphasis was on addressing incidents of sexual harassment after they had occurred.

Following updates to this legislation, employment tribunals can increase compensation to victims of workplace sexual harassment by up to 25% if the company didn’t take steps to prevent the harassment from occurring. 

Actions for HR: Make sure you have a plan in place to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. That includes training and a system of reporting. 

Read more: Preventing sexual harassment
 

Indirect discrimination

People who experience the same disadvantage as someone with a protected characteristic can now claim indirect discrimination. 

For example, a male primary caregiver might be disadvantaged at work because of an inflexible working pattern. Female primary caregivers have legal protections against discrimination of this kind on the basis of a protected characteristic. Now, the male primary caregiver can claim indirect discrimination by demonstrating that the negative impact of the inflexible working pattern is the same negative impact that female primary caregivers are protected against. 

Actions for HR: Make sure your company policies on matters like scheduling and redundancies don’t negatively impact a specific group, even if that group doesn’t share a protected characteristic. 
 

Breastfeeding

Women are now specifically protected from unfavourable treatment in the workplace due to breastfeeding (on the basis of sex discrimination). This amendment is designed to protect women who are breastfeeding from unfair practices, such as being asked to work in hazardous conditions that could impact the wellbeing of the mother and therefore her child.

Actions for HR: Update your sex discrimination policies to incorporate adjustments for breastfeeding mothers, and perform suitable risk assessments (note: ‘breastfeeding mothers’ doesn’t mean women who are actively breastfeeding at work - it means women who are breastfeeding their children in general, and who require adjustments for their wellbeing and safety as a result).

Read more: Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023
 

Unfavourable treatment after maternity leave

New and expectant mothers or people taking shared parental leave now receive redundancy protection from the day they notify their employer of the pregnancy until 18 months after the child’s date of birth. For parents taking adoption leave, the protection starts on the first day of their adoption leave and ends 18 months after the child is placed for adoption. 

For employees who experience pregnancy loss, the protection period starts on the day the employer is notified of the pregnancy and ends two weeks after the end of the pregnancy. For pregnancy losses that happen after 24 weeks (classed as stillbirths), the employee is entitled to statutory maternity leave and the associated protections.

Actions for HR: While this doesn’t mean it is now illegal to make an employee redundant during their pregnancy or parental leave, it does mean that employers must take every reasonable step to protect the employer’s role or find a suitable replacement role rather than seeking to remove them from the company. 

Read more: Maternity leave and pay: A guide for employers
 

Final thoughts

Given the recent changes, it’s a good idea to carefully review the revised Equality Act to ensure your company is compliant. If you haven’t already, now is the time to update your company policies, update changes and provide training, to make sure you’re not accidentally breaching a new law. 
 

Further reading

1 GUIDE - Unfair dismissal: How to protect your business
2 Unfair dismissal changes: How employers should prepare
3 Employment Rights Act 2024-25: How HR teams should prepare
4 Changes to flexible working: What employers should know