The law protects individuals from discrimination in respect of the following "protected characteristics":

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity.
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

Protection against various types of discrimination and other unlawful conduct that apply to most (and in some cases all) of the protected characteristics:

• Direct discrimination:- where the employee is treated less favourably because of a protected characteristic;
• Combined discrimination:- this allows those who have experienced less favourable treatment because of the combined effects of 2 protected characteristics to bring a direct discrimination claim.
• Indirect discrimination:- where an employer's actions, decisions or policies have the effect of disadvantaging a group of people with a particular protected characteristic.  This applies to all protected characteristics except pregnancy and maternity.
• Harassment:- where harassment "relates to" a protected characteristic.
• Victimisation:- protects employees who do (or might do) protected acts such as bringing discrimination claims, complaining about harassment, or becoming involved in another employee's discrimination complaint.
• Instructing, causing, inducing and aiding discrimination:- it unlawful to instruct, cause, induce or aid someone to discriminate against, harass or victimise another person, or to attempt to do so.