The Legal Toolkit
Part 1: Mapping the Employment Law Landscape
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A brief history of employment law in England and Wales
The roots influence the whole. The current UK Employment legal system is shaped by its past and the workers’ rights movements which significantly changed the employment legal landscape over the last 250 years.
The ‘master–servant’ model dominated the legal relationship between employers and workers in the 18th and 19th centuries, with employers exercising significant control and discipline over workers. It was reinforced by written laws such as the Master and Servant Acts which were deeply biased towards the employers.
It was a dystopian reality. Workers had very few rights, and any breaches of contract or challenge to working conditions by the workers led to strict punishments, including imprisonment.8
The early 20th century saw the gradual introduction of protective legislation in response to growing social concern for workers’ welfare and to workers organising for better pay and working conditions. The focus shifted from the employer’s interest in disciplining workers to protecting employee welfare, particularly in response to unfair treatment of workers who suffered industrial accidents and workplace injuries without compensation. Some key legislation from this time includes:
- Workmen’s Compensation Acts (from 1897): Provided compensation for workplace injuries, regardless of fault. This marked a significant shift in attitudes on employer responsibility towards their workers and on the role of the government in intervening in workplace matters.
- National Insurance Act 1911: Introduced social insurance cover for loss of income due to ill health or unemployment.
- Trade Boards Act 1909: Set minimum wages within certain trades that historically offered low wages to workers.
It was not until the 1970s that there was legal recognition of the idea that all employees are entitled to certain basic rights as part of their employment relationship (a ‘rights-based’ approach), including freedom from discrimination on the grounds of sex or race. And therefore, employers have obligations or duties to safeguard employee rights in the workplace. Some key legislation from this time includes:
- Industrial Relations Act 1971: Introduced laws on unfair industrial practices and established a special Industrial Relations Court to cover a range of labour relations and trade union matters.
- Equal Pay Act 1970: Mandated equal pay for men and women.
- Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and Race Relations Act 1976: Prohibited discrimination on grounds of sex and race.
From the 1990s onwards, employment law expanded to cover a wider range of rights, influenced significantly by European Union (EU) law. These changes reflected a broader societal shift towards equality and fairness at work. Some key legal developments which took place include:
- Introduction of rights to parental leave, flexible working, and protection for part-time and fixed-term workers
- Disability Discrimination Act 1995 prohibited discrimination against disabled workers.
- EU-Derived Protections such as the Working Time Regulations 1998 (implementing the EU Working Time Directive) introducing limits on working hours and rights to paid holiday.
The legal framework today
Employment law today is framed by a number of different laws, supported by case law, and supplemented with practical guidance from regulatory bodies such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).
Case Law
Case law is law developed through decisions made by courts and tribunals, where judges interpret and apply legislation to specific cases. In England & Wales, case law often creates the legal principles that guide how similar cases are decided in the future.
Regulatory Body
A Regulatory Body or a Regulator is an organisation or government body that makes, monitors and enforces rules and regulations, to ensure that the organisations regulated by it operate according to the law. For example: the Charity Commission is the regulator of Charities.
EHRC
The Equality and Human Rights Commission helps enforce equality law, challenges discrimination, and provides guidance to employers, public bodies, and individuals about their rights and responsibilities.
ACAS
ACAS provides free, impartial advice on employment rights and workplace disputes.
This section introduces the key laws which shape the employment law landscape. Later parts of this Toolkit explore how these rights have worked in practice and how law has been interpreted and applied if something goes wrong.
- The Equality Act 2010
- Protection from Harassment Act 1997
- Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
- Personal Injury Law and Duty of Care
- Human Rights Law: ECHR and the Human Rights Act 1998
- Employment Rights Act 1996 & the new Employment Rights Act 2025
The Equality Act 2010 (Equality Act)
The Equality Act is the principal piece of equality legislation in the UK. The intention of the Equality Act was to harmonise and bring together the various anti-discrimination and equality laws to create a fairer and more equal society. It outlaws discrimination based on specific characteristics (called ‘Protected Characteristics).
Race
Race is defined to include colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origins.In this Toolkit, we are focussing only on race as a Protected Characteristic.
Race
Race is defined to include colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origins.In this Toolkit, we are focussing only on race as a Protected Characteristic.
In this Toolkit, we are focussing only on race as a Protected Characteristic.
The Equality Act applies to all aspects of working life including recruitment, interviews, working conditions, promotions, transfers, dismissals, and training.
The Equality Act specifies the types of discrimination which are prohibited including direct discrimination (being treated less favourably because of a Protected Characteristic), indirect discrimination (policies or practices that disadvantage people based on a particular Protected Characteristic), harassment (unwanted conduct related to a Protected Characteristic that violates dignity or creates an intimidating environment), and victimisation (being treated unfairly for making or supporting a complaint of discrimination).
To enforce your rights under the Equality Act, you’d bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal if you believe you have been subjected to discrimination. Employment Tribunals can grant (or ‘award’) several remedies including compensation and give recommendations to employers on workplace changes to improve working conditions.
In addition to protecting rights at work, the Equality Act also provides protections in other areas of life such as public services, education, housing, shops and serviceproviders, and membership organisations and associations. In this Toolkit, we focus on the ways in which the Equality Act provides protections at work specifically.
Protection from Harassment Act 1997
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.it, we focus on the ways in which the Equality Act provides protections at work specifically.
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA)
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.it, we focus on the ways in which the Equality Act provides protections at work specifically.
Personal Injury Law and Duty of Care
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.it, we focus on the ways in which the Equality Act provides protections at work specifically.
International Law: European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and Human Rights Act 1988
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.it, we focus on the ways in which the Equality Act provides protections at work specifically.
Employment Rights Act (ERA) 1996 and the Employment Rights Act 2025
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.it, we focus on the ways in which the Equality Act provides protections at work specifically.
Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book.it, we focus on the ways in which the Equality Act provides protections at work specifically.
Where the Law Falls Short
Employment law today is framed by a number of different laws, supported by case law, and supplemented with practical guidance from regulatory bodies such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).
Protected Characteristics
These include race, age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
This section introduces the key laws which shape the employment law landscape. Later parts of this Toolkit explore how these rights have worked in practice and how law has been interpreted and applied if something goes wrong.
Earlier in my career, discrimination was usually informal – and almost certainly intersected with class/socioeconomic background. I didn’t have similar experiences to the majority population, and so often found myself excluded, or my work judged through a racialised lens (i.e. works hard, but doesn’t have leadership potential).
Anonymised survey response
Employment law today is framed by a number of different laws, supported by case law, and supplemented with practical guidance from regulatory bodies such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS).
Case Law
Case law is law developed through decisions made by courts and tribunals, where judges interpret and apply legislation to specific cases. In England & Wales, case law often creates the legal principles that guide how similar cases are decided in the future.
Regulatory Body
A Regulatory Body or a Regulator is an organisation or government body that makes, monitors and enforces rules and regulations, to ensure that the organisations regulated by it operate according to the law. For example: the Charity Commission is the regulator of Charities.
EHRC
The Equality and Human Rights Commission helps enforce equality law, challenges discrimination, and provides guidance to employers, public bodies, and individuals about their rights and responsibilities.
ACAS
ACAS provides free, impartial advice on employment rights and workplace disputes.
This section introduces the key laws which shape the employment law landscape. Later parts of this Toolkit explore how these rights have worked in practice and how law has been interpreted and applied if something goes wrong.
“Often there is an unspoken assumption that being an East Asian woman, I am deemed as more compliant and assigned more administrative tasks.”
Anonymised survey response
In the training slides, the word Race had been removed from the list of biases entirely. I was stunned. When I raised the absence of race, I was shut down and not allowed to speak further.
Anonymised survey response
Intersectionality
Intersectionality is a way of understanding that different aspects of identity (such as race, class, gender, sexuality, or disability) do not exist separately, and intersect and interact to shape an individual’s lived experiences and social positions, often resulting in overlapping forms of social, economic, or cultural disadvantage. Kimberlé Crenshaw, a critical race theory academic, coined the term “intersectionality” in a paper in 1989 as a way to help explain the oppression of African-American women. There is an acknowledgment that current legal frameworks do not provide adequate protection against intersectional discrimination involving race.
Understanding the Equality Act in the Context of Race Discrimination at Work
In this section:
What defence is available to the employer?
When can discrimination happen?
What types of race discrimination claims are covered under the Equality Act?
In this section, we take a deeper look at the protection framework within the Equality Act applicable to cases of race discrimination at work. To do so, we’ll cover the following questions:
- Who is protected?
- Who can discriminate?
- What defence is available to the employer?
- When can discrimination happen?
- What types of race discrimination claims are covered under the Equality Act?
Case Law
Case law is law developed through decisions made by courts and tribunals, where judges interpret and apply legislation to specific cases. In England & Wales, case law often creates the legal principles that guide how similar cases are decided in the future.
Regulatory Body
A Regulatory Body or a Regulator is an organisation or government body that makes, monitors and enforces rules and regulations, to ensure that the organisations regulated by it operate according to the law. For example: the Charity Commission is the regulator of Charities.
EHRC
The Equality and Human Rights Commission helps enforce equality law, challenges discrimination, and provides guidance to employers, public bodies, and individuals about their rights and responsibilities.
ACAS
ACAS provides free, impartial advice on employment rights and workplace disputes.
This section introduces the key laws which shape the employment law landscape. Later parts of this Toolkit explore how these rights have worked in practice and how law has been interpreted and applied if something goes wrong.
- The Equality Act 2010
- Protection from Harassment Act 1997
- Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
- Personal Injury Law and Duty of Care
- Human Rights Law: ECHR and the Human Rights Act 1998
- Employment Rights Act 1996 & the new Employment Rights Act 2025
Who is protected?
Understanding the distinction between these categories is important to determine what legal rights and protections a person has at work. This is a complex area of law, but the following table provides a high-level, indicative overview of the Equality Act protections available to different people in the workplace:
Who
Definition
Equality Act protected
Employees
Employees are people who hold a contract of employment. They are entitled to the full range of Equality Act protections from recruitment to the end of their employment.
Yes
Workers
Employees are people who hold a contract of employment. They are entitled to the full range of Equality Act protections from recruitment to the end of their employment.
Yes
Employees
Employees are people who hold a contract of employment. They are entitled to the full range of Equality Act protections from recruitment to the end of their employment.
Yes
Workers
Employees are people who hold a contract of employment. They are entitled to the full range of Equality Act protections from recruitment to the end of their employment.
Yes
Who can discriminate?
Understanding the distinction between these categories is important to determine what legal rights and protections a person has at work. This is a complex area of law, but the following table provides a high-level, indicative overview of the Equality Act protections available to different people in the workplace:
I was bullied by a manager from the Caribbean. He made jokes about my body and would occasionally touch it and felt he was allowed to do so as he was also black (I’m black African) and he was also gay so he felt it could not be considered assault.
Anonymised survey response
When can discrimination occur?
From day one, I had a target on my back
Anonymised survey response
Discrimination can occur at any stage of the employment relationship, such as during recruitment, training, performance appraisals and redundancies. An employer’s legal responsibility extends to preventing discrimination at work, including during work-related social events, business trips, and sometimes even conduct outside the workplace if there is a close or sufficient connection to employment.