Accessibility Information
What does sexual
orientation mean?
Your sexual orientation means the general attraction you feel towards
people of one sex or another (or both). Most people are generally
attracted to:
●people who are the same sex as them
●people who are the opposite sex to them, or
●people of both sexes.
Same-sex attraction is called homosexuality. On this site, we call men
and women who are homosexual either ‘gay’ (for men) or ‘lesbian’ (for
women).
Opposite-sex attraction is called heterosexuality. On this site, we
describe people who are heterosexual as ‘straight’.
Both-sex attraction is called bisexuality. On this site, we use the word
‘bisexual’, or occasionally just ‘bi’, to describe people who are
attracted to both sexes.
Does sexual orientation discrimination
apply to me?
Legal protection from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation
applies to everyone, whatever their sexual orientation.
Sexual orientation discrimination includes being treated less favourably
because:
●you are lesbian, gay, bisexual or straight
●people think you are lesbian, gay, bisexual
or straight, or
●you are associated with someone who is
lesbian, gay, bisexual or straight, for example a friend, relative or
colleague.
The law applies to direct and indirect discrimination as well as to
harassment and victimisation. The law applies to the private, public and
not-for-profit sectors.
When and where could
discrimination take place?
Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation occurs in many
situations, and is usually unlawful.
Regulations are in force that prohibit discrimination in the workplace,
including harassment, on grounds of sexual orientation.
Acas (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) has published
a useful guide for employers and employees on sexual orientation in the
workplace, which explains the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation)
Regulations 2003.
Regulations are also in force that prohibit discrimination on grounds of
sexual orientation in the provision of goods, facilities and services,
education, the use and disposal of premises and the exercise of public
functions.
The Department for Communities and Local Government has produced a guide
to these regulations.
Working and earning
Employers have a positive duty to treat people equally in terms of
recruitment, training, promotion and dismissal.
Example
While being interviewed for a promotion, an applicant says that she has
a female partner. Although she has all the skills and competences
required for the position, the organisation decides not to offer her the
promotion because she is a lesbian. This is unlawful direct
discrimination.
Example
James applied for a number of training courses offered by his company.
All of the courses were relevant to his job and essential for access to
promotion opportunities. His manager refused on each occasion, saying
that he could not spare the time away from his usual work. However, the
same manager regularly allowed other colleagues to go on training
courses. As a result, several gained promotion. James overheard his
manager say that gay people should not work for the company and he would
never send James on training. This is direct discrimination.
Example
Maria is a lesbian who decided not to come out to colleagues because she
often heard them telling jokes that poke fun at other people, including
lesbians and gay men. Maria was ‘outed’ at work by a colleague, who told
everyone she is a lesbian because he saw her holding hands with another
woman. She was summoned to her manager’s office, to be told she was
being moved to another section because he could not work with a lesbian.
This is unlawful direct discrimination from her manager. It is also
harassment from colleagues, both because she was outed as a lesbian and
because of the discriminatory jokes to which she was subjected.
If you work in an environment where people tell jokes about different
sexual orientations that you find offensive, or where people are picked
on because of their perceived sexual orientation, this could be
harassment.
If you have made a complaint about sexual orientation discrimination and
you are subsequently treated badly because of having complained, this is
unlawful victimisation.
Learning and Training
It is unlawful to discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation when
providing education or training. The opportunity to learn and receive
training is open to all, and educational providers are required to treat
everyone equally in making this available. This means, for example, that
homophobic bullying in schools and colleges must be taken seriously and
dealt with as firmly as bullying on any other grounds.
Example
John was bullied in school by other pupils who thought he was gay. He
complained to his teacher, who did nothing to deal with the bullies.
When he was beaten up by the bullies, John was so frightened that he
refused to return to school. This could be direct discrimination.
Example
The daughter of a gay couple was bullied at school because of her
parents’ sexual orientation. The parents complained to the teacher, who
said it was ‘just teasing’ but she would ask the children to stop. The
bullying did not stop, even though bullying on other grounds was taken
seriously and dealt with firmly by the school. This could be direct
discrimination related to her parents’ sexual orientation.
Shops, services, clubs and associations
Everyone has an equal right to access shops and services, and to be
treated with fairness and respect, whatever their sexual orientation.
Example
Two men are refused a hotel room with a double bed, although one is
available, because the hotel says it is against their policy to allow
adults of the same sex to share a bed. This is unlawful direct
discrimination.
Example
If a loan company refused to give loans to customers who have had an HIV
test, this could be indirect discrimination against gay men, who may be
more likely than others to have had such a test.
Care and healthcare
Providers of health and social care have a responsibility not to
discriminate against anyone, including lesbians, gay men and bisexual
people.
Example
A couple is refused fertility treatment because they are lesbians. This
is direct discrimination.
Example
A doctor strikes a patient off his list because he comes out as a gay
man. This is direct discrimination.
Housing and property
Whatever your sexual orientation, you have a right to be treated equally
by local councils and housing providers. Your rights to own and enjoy
your property are also set out in the Human Rights Act 1998.
Example
Simon is a bisexual man living in local authority housing. He is in a
same-sex relationship with another man, who does not live with him.
Simon is being harassed about his sexual orientation by neighbours. He
has been verbally abused and his windows have been smashed. He has
reported the abuse to his housing officer and has asked to be re-housed,
but the council refuses to accept this as a valid reason. The housing
officer tells Simon to report any incidents to the police and takes no
further action. This is direct discrimination.
Justice and the legal system
Everyone has the right to a fair trial and equal treatment under the
law.
Example
A lesbian reports same-sex domestic violence to the police but they do
not take her complaint seriously. They do not believe that a woman can
experience domestic violence from another woman. This is direct
discrimination.
Public services
All public authorities are required to provide services to all
communities and individuals without discrimination. Any organisation or
individual doing work of a public nature could be considered a public
authority, so private and not-for-profit organisations that are
delivering public services are sometimes public authorities.
Example
A religious group has a contract with a local authority to provide a
meals-on-wheels service. A member of the group, who is a volunteer,
refuses to deliver meals to a gay man because of his sexual orientation.
The group’s director tells the volunteer that he must deliver the meals
to everyone who needs them, regardless of their sexual orientation. The
volunteer refuses because this conflicts with his strongly held
religious conviction that same-sex relationships are wrong. The director
tells the volunteer that he cannot continue to participate in the
meals-on-wheels service.
When is sexual
orientation discrimination lawful?
In certain circumstances, treating someone more or less favourably
because of their sexual orientation may be lawful, but these are rare
exceptions.
Genuine occupational circumstances
In limited situations, it may be lawful for an employer to discriminate
if there is a genuine occupational requirement for the jobholder to be
of a particular sexual orientation.
Example
A charity delivering domestic violence services to lesbians, bisexual
women, gay men and transgender people advertises for a gay caseworker to
deliver services to its gay clients. The post is restricted to gay
applicants because the charity believes that a particular sexual
orientation is a genuine occupational requirement for the post. The
charity considers that heterosexual men would not have an in-depth
understanding of the cultural and domestic violence experiences of gay
men. The charity restricts other caseworker posts to lesbian and
bisexual women and transgender people for the same reasons. Other posts
that do not require this kind of in-depth understanding, such as
administrative posts, are open to people of all genders and sexual
orientations. This type of discrimination could be lawful.
Example
A Church of England bishop blocked the appointment of a woman to a youth
worker job funded by the church because she was a lesbian. The job
involved working with teenage girls. The bishop felt that it was not
appropriate to have a lesbian working with teenage girls. The
recruitment panel had already decided that the woman was the most
suitable candidate for the post, which was restricted to women. Her
references were also excellent. The post was restricted to women as a
genuine occupational requirement. The decision not to offer the post to
a lesbian is direct discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.
Commercial goods and services
It is unlawful to turn away customers because of their sexual
orientation. It is also unlawful to advertise in a way that implies that
customers of a particular sexual orientation are unwelcome.
However, it is not unlawful to provide commercial goods and services
that are likely to be of more interest to people of a particular sexual
orientation than to others of a different sexual orientation.
Example
A travel company that organises holidays can target its services at
lesbians, gay men and bisexual people. This is lawful discrimination.
Organised religion
Some bodies or groups have a religious or belief-related purpose. Such
bodies may have a legitimate need to limit membership or access to their
activities to people who wholly or partly share their religion or
belief.
The law recognises the need to avoid unnecessary and unjustifiable
restrictions on people’s right to exercise their religious belief. For
this reason, an exemption may be justifiable to cover the activities of
religious organisations.
For example, a religious group may be able to justify restricting their
membership to heterosexual people to comply with the doctrine of the
organisation, or to avoid conflicting with the strongly held religious
convictions of a significant number of the religion’s followers.
The religion or belief provisions of Part 2 of the Equality Act 2006
contain exceptions to make this possible.
Example
Religious adoption agencies were exempted until Christmas 2008 from the
requirement not to discriminate against lesbian and gay couples who wish
to adopt children. Since that date it has been unlawful for them to
discriminate against lesbian or gay couples who approach them for
adoption services
Charities
It is generally unlawful for charities to discriminate on grounds of
sexual orientation. However, if a charity has been established to
provide benefits to people of a particular sexual orientation, and its
rules (called a ‘charitable instrument’) make this clear, they can
legally restrict their services in this way.
Example
A charity is established to promote equal rights for lesbian, gay men
and bisexual people. It is lawful to restrict the activities of the
charity in this way.
Example
A charity is established to support lesbians, gay men and bisexual
people who experience hate crime. It is lawful to restrict the
activities of the charity in this way.