Victimisation

Overview

"Victimisation" has a particular meaning under the Equality Act 2010. Broadly, it is designed to allow employees to complain about suspected discrimination without being punished for doing so.

Victimisation occurs where an employee is treated badly because they have complained about discrimination or assisted someone in their discrimination complaint, or it is thought that they have done or may do so.

It does not matter if the discrimination claim was successful or unsuccessful. In a complaint of victimisation the actual or alleged discrimination is not the issue as the focus is on the employer's conduct towards the employee after they took some sort of action in connection with a possible discrimination claim.

An employee is protected from victimisation even if the allegation turns out to be wrong, provided that the protected act was not made in bad faith. 

No comparator is necessary as the employee does not need to compare their treatment with anyone else.

The victimisation provisions apply to all nine protected characteristics, as well as to claims concerning equal pay.

The definition of "employment, under s.83(2) of the Equality Act 2010, is broader than the employment definition used for unfair dismissal and other employment claims. This means that the use of "employee" in this section should be read as including workers, apprentices, etc.