Skip to main content
search

Equality Act 2010 – Obligations and Liabilities

The Act’s definition of employment is extremely broad, including working under a contact of employment, a contract of apprenticeship or a contract personally to do work. Under the terms of the Equalities Act employers have an obligation not to discriminate against, victimise or harass job applicants and employees; this even applies to those who are seeking to recruit even if they are not yet an employer.

  • With regard to job applicants, employers must not discriminate or harass
  • By the arrangements they make for deciding who should be offered employment i.e. policies, criteria, practises, advertising and application and interview processes
  • In the terms on which they offer employment e.g. pay and bonuses
  • By not offering employment to the applicant
  • The Act states that an employer may not discriminate against or victimise an employee
  • As to the terms of employment e.g. working hours, bonuses, pay etc
  • In the way that they make access to opportunities for promotion, transfer or training or for receiving any other benefit, facility or service
  • By dismissal i.e. direct termination, expiry of a fixed term contract (unless it is immediately renewed), constructive dismissal

The usual qualifying period of service is not applied where an employee’s dismissal breaches the Act so an employee may put the case to an Employment Tribunal with less than one year’s service; if they have over one year’s service it is likely that a breach of the Act will also constitute unfair dismissal which can then be cited at the Tribunal at the same time.

Employers have a duty not to harass job applicants and employees and this duty has been extended to give employers the responsibility of ensuring that employees are not subject to harassment by third parties, even those over which the employer does not have direct control. If there have been 2 instances of harassment, of which the employer is aware and they have done nothing to prevent, a third instance which is ignored by the employer will be seen as a breach of the Act. This liability can only be avoided if the employer can show that they took reasonable steps to prevent the harassment in the first place e.g. by displaying a notice that states that harassment will not be tolerated, encouraging employees to report cases of harassment etc.

The Act also states that it is unlawful for an employer to ask applicants questions about their health or any disabilities, including mental illness, prior to offering them a job or including them in a pool where a job will be offered when one becomes available. There are only few exceptions to this rule – if the questions are asked to monitor diversity, to determine whether the candidate would benefit under the guaranteed interview scheme or if it can be demonstrated that there is an occupational requirement for an individual with a particular impairment or the questions are asked as part of the vetting process for the purposes of national security. However, an employer may ask questions that relate to adjustments that would be necessary to conduct an assessment or interview but this information should be kept separately and should not be used to influence any subsequent decisions regarding employment.

Questions may be asked after a job offer has been made and the offer itself can be subject to satisfactory health checks but there can then be no discrimination by the employer based on the responses.

If you would like to speak to a member of the team about our Umbrella Company services, you can contact us on 01206 713680 or email agency@contractorumbrella.com.

Why Choose Contractor Umbrella?

Contractor Umbrella is the hassle-free, straight talking umbrella company that provides umbrella employment for UK based contractors and freelancers. Independently voted as the best umbrella company by the readers of Contractor UK.

As one of the most trusted umbrella companies in the UK, we guarantee our employees peace of mind, absolute compliance and complete security. We are one of the longest standing and most respected umbrella companies in the UK.

If you’d like to find out more, call us on 01206 591 000 or request a call back by completing our online form.

Benefits of working through Contractor Umbrella;

  • Fast and easy registration –  be ready to work in 24 hours, simply register online and we’ll take care of the rest.
  • Calculate your take home pay – use our online calculator to find out how much you could be taking home through Contractor Umbrella.
  • Same day payments – We offer same day payments as standard providing funds are received into our account by 9am, for no additional fee.
  • Our Service Guarantee – is our guarantee that you will be looked after at every step of the way.
  • Flexible Limited Company accountancy – when you sign up to our sister company Dolan Accountancy, you can transfer to Contractor Umbrella when umbrella employment better suits or your assignment sits inside IR35.
  • Employee Benefits at Contractor Umbrella there are many benefits available to you as our employee including Childcare Vouchers, our Employee Rewards Scheme, Group Pension Scheme, Foreign Currency Exchange, Contractor Accommodation, Contractor Mortgages and much more.
  • Expert Contractor Support Team – Every employee of Contractor Umbrella has access to our expert Contractor Support Team who are available to deal with any queries that you may have. You can get in touch with the Contractor Support Team, through the online chat, by email or by telephone.
Take Home Pay Calculator