Equality at work

Equality is good business. Both sides of the desk.

Free guides for employers and for the people who work for them. Same law, same facts, and best practice that works for both.

Vanessa Challess, Solicitor, qualified 2003 · Law checked 31 October 2026

The short answer

What does the Equality Act 2010 protect at work?

Nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation (Equality Act 2010 s.4). Nothing else is protected by the Act on its own.

Things like mental health, neurodivergence, menopause and childcare are covered only where they fall within one of the nine, for example as a disability under s.6, or as indirect sex discrimination under s.19.

Employees are also protected from victimisation if they complain about discrimination, whatever their own characteristics (s.27).

Law: Equality Act 2010, s.4; Equality Act 2010, s.6; Equality Act 2010, s.19; Equality Act 2010, s.27

For employers

I run a business

Equality that pays: what it costs to get wrong, what you can claw back, and the fair way to say yes or no.

Go to the hub

For people at work

I work for one

Your rights in plain English, especially for women at work: pregnancy, health, pay, flexibility and harassment.

Go to the hub

Start here

Is it protected?

Mental health, menopause, neurodivergence, childcare, beliefs: what the Equality Act covers, what it doesn't, and the test that decides it.

Open the checker

Why this hub exists

I was working as in-house counsel when I lost my job because I was pregnant. It was my third child, and I was the sole breadwinner.

That's when I decided I would never work for anyone else again, and I started my own business while I was still pregnant.

I'm a solicitor. I knew the law, and it still happened. This hub exists so that employers know how to get it right, and so that the people who work for them know where they stand.

Vanessa Challess, Solicitor, qualified 2003

The nine protected characteristics

The Equality Act 2010 protects these nine, and only these nine (s.4). Plenty of things people assume are on the list, like mental health or menopause, are only covered through one of them.

Age: Any age, young or old, or an age group such as "over 50s" or "under 25s".; Equality Act 2010, s.5
Disability: A physical or mental impairment with a substantial and long-term effect on normal day-to-day activities, including taking part in working life. Cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis count from diagnosis.; Equality Act 2010, s.6 and Sch 1
Gender reassignment: Proposing to undergo, undergoing or having undergone a process (or part of one) to reassign sex. No medical treatment is required.; Equality Act 2010, s.7
Marriage and civil partnership: Being married or a civil partner. Being single, engaged or living together is not covered.; Equality Act 2010, s.8
Pregnancy and maternity: Being pregnant, ill because of pregnancy, or on or taking maternity leave, during the protected period.; Equality Act 2010, s.18 (work)
Race: Colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origins.; Equality Act 2010, s.9
Religion or belief: Any religion or philosophical belief, and having no religion or belief.; Equality Act 2010, s.10
Sex: Being a man or a woman. The Supreme Court held in 2025 that this means biological sex.; Equality Act 2010, s.11
Sexual orientation: Orientation towards people of the same sex, the opposite sex, or either sex.; Equality Act 2010, s.12