Discrimination



Employee Equality Acts 1998-2004

The purpose of the Employment Equality act 1998 is to promote equality in the workplace and to outlaw discremination in work related areas such as pay, vocational training, access to employment , work experience and promotion

The purpose of the equality act 2004 is to implement the E.U. Directives which requires all member states to prohibit discrimination, harassment and victimisation on the grounds of gender , racial, or ethnic origin, religion ,disability age and or sexual orientation in relation to employment and operational and vocational training. The 2004 act makes a number of adments to the 1998 Act and they are collectively known as the Employment Equality Act s 1998 and 2004.

Aspects of employment that are covered include:

Advertising

Equal pay

Access to employment

Vocational training and work experience

Terms and conditions of employment

Promotion or re-grading

Classification of posts

Dismissal

Collective agreements.

The Acts apply to:

Full-time, part-time and temporary employees

Public and private sector employment

Vocational training bodies

Employment agencies

Trade unions, professional and trade bodies.

The Acts also extend to:

The self-employed

Partnerships

People employed in another person's home.

The Equality Authority:

The Equality Authority is an independent body set up under the Employment Equality Acts. The Equality Authority's mission is to remain "committed to realising positive change in the situation of those experiencing inequality by promoting and defending the rights established in the equality legislation and by providing leadership in:

Building a commitment to addressing equality issues in practice,

To creating a wider awareness of equality issues,

Celebrating the diversity in Irish society,

Maintaining equality considerations across all sections.

In doing so, the authority may advise and represent claimants in the referral of cases to the Equality Tribunal, and become involved in appointing advisory committees to advise on matters relating to equality. The board reports to the Minister each year regarding the authority's activities.

The Acts outlaw discrimination in relation to nine specific grounds, this is outlined in chapter two.



Discrimination

The Acts prohibit an employer from discriminating against any employee or applicant for employment on any of the following nine grounds:-

Gender (which includes maternity leave or pregnancy)

Marital status

Family status

Sexual orientation

Religious belief

Age (Applies to those aged over 16 years, subject to certain exemptions)

Disability

Race (refers to race, colour, nationality or ethnic or national origin)

Membership of the Traveller Community

1.Direct Discrimination

For the purposes of the Acts, discrimination shall be taken to occur where a person is treated less favourably than another person is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation on any of the nine discriminatory grounds which exists, existed but no longer exists, may exist in the future, or is imputed to the person concerned.

2.Discrimination by Association

The Acts also provide for discrimination by association. This occurs where a person is treated less favourably by association with another person, by virtue of that association, than a person who is not so associated and who is in a comparable situation. The person with whom there is association must be protected by one of the nine discriminatory grounds.

3.Indirect Discrimination

Indirect discrimination applies to all nine grounds covered by the Acts and occurs where an apparently neutral provision puts a person who is a member of one of the nine grounds at a particular disadvantage because of being a member of that group. Indirect Discrimination is capable of being objectively justified. For example, imposing a height restriction on the job may tend to discriminate more against women than men, but if the employer can show that the height requirement is necessary to enable the person to fulfil the particular job, then that is a legitimate aim of the particular conditions, and is objectively justified.

4.Discrimination by Employers

An employer cannot directly or indirectly treat an employee or an applicant for employment less favourably due to any of the nine grounds protected under the Acts. An employer cannot directly or indirectly devise or use rules or practices which lead to discrimination against employees.

References to an employee in the Acts include agency workers and, in relation to such workers, references to the employer in the Acts include the provider of agency work.

5.Areas Relevant to Recruitment Where Discrimination is Prohibited

It is unlawful to discriminate in employment in