Prohibited conduct (discrimination etc)

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STOP PRESS: On 30 October 2026 sections 20 and 21 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 were brought into force, introducing a new duty on employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment of employees by third parties and expanding the duty to prevent sexual harassment to require employers to take all reasonable steps in prevention. As a result, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) have updated their guidance in relation to third party harassment and sexual harassment. This Overview is currently under review and will be updated shortly in line with the updated guidance.

The Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) provides protection against discrimination and other prohibited conduct relating to protected characteristics which people may possess. Some protections relate specifically to only one of those characteristics.

This topic provides information on the conduct that is prohibited under EqA 2010. EqA 2010 divides the types of prohibited conduct into the following categories:

  1. •

    discrimination, which includes:

    1. ◦

      direct discrimination

    2. ◦

      indirect discrimination

    3. ◦

      discrimination arising from disability

    4. ◦

      failure...

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