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Essential points

  • The main legislation governing sex discrimination in the UK is the Equality Act 2010 (the act) (note that Northern Ireland has its own equality laws).
  • ‘Sex’ is one of the nine characteristics listed in the act that are protected by the law (the ‘protected characteristics’). The act also identifies different types of unlawful discrimination, including direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, victimisation, perceived discrimination and associative discrimination. 
  • Sex discrimination occurs when someone experiences one of these ‘types’ of unlawful discrimination because of sex.
  • ‘Sex’ in the act refers to a person’s biological sex. The Supreme Court has ruled that a gender recognition certificate (GRC) does not change a person’s sex for the purposes of the act.
  • Pregnancy and maternity have particular protections in the act, covered in more detail on our UK Employment Law Page on Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination. However, there are some areas where the law on sex discrimination and the law on pregnancy and maternity discrimination overlap. These are covered below.
  • In addition to protection from discrimination in the act, there are other legal provisions contained in other employment protection legislation, which may operate in certain circumstances alongside the protection provided in the act.
  • The act covers discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services as well as in employment. This page looks at sex discrimination in employment only.

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Please note

While every care has been taken in compiling this content, the CIPD cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. These notes are not intended to be a substitute for specific legal advice. 

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