Human Rights Act 1993

THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 1993 came into force on 1st February 1994. The Act is aimed at stamping out discrimination in the work place. It seeks to do this by making employers responsible for any acts of discrimination in the work place whether carried out by employers or employees. The crux for employers is therefore:

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to cease their own unlawful discrimination to establish procedures to deal with acts of discrimination by employees in the work place.

There are 15 acts of unlawful discrimination:

1.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Sex (including pregnancy and childbirth) Marital status Religious belief Ethical belief Colour Race Ethnic and national origins Disability (including physical, psychological, presence of organisms) Age Political opinion Employment status Family status Sexual orientation Sexual harassment Racial harassment