Key facts
- Year
- 2010
- Protected characteristics
- 9
- Purpose
- Prevent discrimination
- Applies to
- Work, education, services, housing
The Equality Act 2010 is a major UK law that protects people from discrimination. It brought together many previous anti-discrimination laws into one act.
Protected Characteristics
The Act protects people from discrimination based on nine characteristics:
- 1Age - Young or old
- 2Disability - Physical or mental impairment
- 3Gender reassignment - Transitioning between genders
- 4Marriage and civil partnership - Being married or in a civil partnership
- 5Pregnancy and maternity - Being pregnant or a new mother
- 6Race - Colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
- 7Religion or belief - Any religion, belief, or lack of belief
- 8Sex - Being a man or a woman
- 9Sexual orientation - Being heterosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual
Types of Discrimination
The Act prohibits:
- Direct discrimination - Treating someone worse because of a protected characteristic
- Indirect discrimination - Rules that disadvantage people with a protected characteristic
- Harassment - Unwanted behaviour related to a protected characteristic
- Victimisation - Punishing someone for making a complaint
Where It Applies
- Employment and work
- Education
- Housing
- Services and public functions
- Clubs and associations
- Transport
Reasonable Adjustments
Employers and service providers must make "reasonable adjustments" for disabled people—for example, providing wheelchair access or adjusting working hours.
Why it comes up in the test
Know the nine protected characteristics and what the Act does.
Common traps
- Not knowing all nine characteristics
- Confusing with the Human Rights Act
- Forgetting "reasonable adjustments"
The Equality Act 2010: common questions
Age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, race, religion/belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
Related topics
- The Human Rights Act 1998UK law that incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into British law, guaranteeing fundamental rights and freedoms.
- Mutual Respect and ToleranceTreating others with respect regardless of their faith, beliefs, or background, and accepting that people have the right to hold different views.
- British ValuesThe fundamental values that define British society: democracy, rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance.
Written from Life in the United Kingdom: A Guide for New Residents (3rd edition), the only official source for the test. BritPass is not affiliated with the Home Office; if anything here differs from the handbook, the handbook is right.
