Badly drafted legislation that extends protection against discrimination at work risks becoming a charter for litigation, says barrister Marina Wheeler:”
Let’s pretend you need a job. And let’s imagine that you are white, male, heterosexual, in reasonably good shape for 45 and with a moderate attachment to the Church of England. You scan the appointments section of The Telegraph and here is just the vacancy: a business in Wolverhampton needs a new accounts manager.You reach a shortlist of eight. The others are: Sandra, recently married, who is hoping to land her first job; Said, a Muslim graduate; Roger, a “mature” 55; Hamish, who is openly gay; Horace, a West Indian; Gerald, who has a residual repetitive strain injury and limited use of his left arm; and Patrick, a Jehovah’s Witness who makes clear that in an emergency he would refuse medical treatment.
The interview process seems fair: all candidates are asked similar questions, focused on their experience and skills for the job. But there is one crucial, invisible difference between you and each of the other seven.
Any one of the others, if turned down for the job, could under existing or forthcoming legislation bring a discrimination claim before an employment tribunal. Each has a “protected characteristic” under revised legislation based respectively on gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, race, disability and belief. If you were to be turned down, you - and you alone - would have no grounds for action.
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