Discrimination
We have an expert team of discrimination lawyers who represent individuals who have been discriminated against at work and in many other areas of life. Our lawyers are widely recognised as being leaders in their field. If you have been treated unfairly because of your age, race, sex, maternity, sexual orientation, religion or disability, we can help. Contact us today.

what the directories say
‘Leigh Day are without doubt the most important employee firm. The impact the team has had upon modern employment litigation is unrivalled.’"
Legal 500 2021
Discrimination law can be complex but our lawyers offer a sympathetic approach as well as a sensitive understanding of our clients' needs, explaining the issues as simply as possible and always focusing on the resolutions the client is seeking.
We give clients an honest view about the prospects of success at an early stage and guide and support them through the options. We are involved in many ground-breaking and pioneering cases.
We are not afraid to take on some of the biggest and most powerful institutions in the country in high-profile disputes involving claims for millions of pounds.
Whatever the nature of the claim, our clients receive the same expert service tailored to their needs. As well as our individual clients, we also act for trade unions, charities and non-governmental organisations who represent groups of people disadvantaged by a particular policy.
Our services
Age discrimination
It is unlawful for an employer or service provider, such as a shop, healthcare provider or transport company, to discriminate against someone because of their age.
Our team of expert employment lawyers advise clients who have been discriminated against. We have successfully brought and settled claims relating to age discrimination in the workplace. Common examples of age discrimination at work include:
- Stereotyping people of a certain age
- Making someone redundant because of his or her age
- Harassing or victimising someone at work because of his or her age
- Compulsorily retiring someone because of their age, unless it can be objectively justified
- Requiring a minimum number of years’ experience for a job, where this is not necessary
Employers should avoid discrimination on the grounds of age in relation to recruitment, selection for promotion and training, and in pay settlements. Our employment lawyers have represented clients who have been replaced by younger colleagues, acted for clients who were paid less because they were younger than their colleagues, and successfully represented Miriam O’Reilly in an age discrimination claim against the BBC.
It is also unlawful for service providers such as healthcare providers, social services and retailers including banks, travel agents and travel companies to discriminate on the grounds of age. Our specialist human rights lawyers have successfully represented people who have suffered discrimination at the hands of many such organisations and have secured compensation and apologies for such discrimination.
Sex discrimination
The employment and discrimination team has acted for many women who have been treated less favourably because of their sex. Most commonly, this includes sex discrimination in relation to recruitment, selection for promotion and training and in pay, including cases where women have received lower bonuses than men doing similar work but performing less well than our clients. Men are also entitled to bring claims of sex discrimination where they are subjected to discrimination as compared to women.
Sex discrimination can also occur where an individual is disadvantaged because of an unjustified provision, criterion or practice, which applies to men and women, but particularly disadvantages one sex in comparison to the other. For example, requiring full-time or long hours will disadvantage more women than men, as it is still mainly women who take primary responsibility for childcare so cannot work full-time or long hours.
We act for many women who want to negotiate part-time and flexible hours and obtain compensation for them if their requests are unreasonably refused.
It is also unlawful for service providers such as healthcare providers, social services and retailers including banks, travel agents and travel companies to discriminate on the grounds of sex. Our human rights lawyers have successfully represented people who have suffered discrimination at the hands of many such organisations and have secured compensation and apologies for such discrimination.
Disability discrimination
We have a specialist team of employment lawyers who can represent you if you have suffered disability discrimination at work and our expert human rights solicitors have unrivalled experience in bringing disability discrimination claims in many other areas of life.
It is unlawful for an employer or service provider, such as a shop, transport company or healthcare provider, to treat someone less favourably because of a disability or because of something arising as a result of his or her disability. Employers and service providers also have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to make sure that a disabled person has the same access to everything that is involved in doing and keeping a job or using a service as a non-disabled person.
If you are are seeking compensation from your employer, or from a service provider who has discriminated against you, and want to bring about an end to unfair practices we can help you.
Our discrimination lawyers work closely with colleagues in our personal injury and clinical negligence teams who represent people who have suffered life-changing injuries which mean they have to cope with a disability. Often they face discrimination when they try to return to work, and our employment lawyers can advise such clients of their rights, and their employer’s obligations in such circumstances.
Our human rights lawyers can act for for you if you are seeking compensation and apologies from bodies who have discriminated against you, including hospitals, other health services, banks, local authorities, education authorities, transport providers, housing associations, prisons and other public and private organisations.
We have successfully secured significant financial compensation and apologies for numerous clients, and have brought an end to unfair practices.
We also challenge the policies of public authorities which discriminate against particular groups of individuals with a view to forcing the public authority to change its policy. We bring these cases not only for individuals but also act for charities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who represent groups of people disadvantaged by a particular policy. Examples of our work include:
- Obtaining financial compensation from a bank for failing to make reasonable adjustments to allow a blind service user to access the bank’s services, and a promise to change their practices
- Securing financial compensation and an apology from a holiday company for a paraplegic whose holiday turned into a degrading and humiliating experience as the advice given that the holiday was suitable for someone with his disability was incorrect
- Winning financial compensation from the Crown Prosecution Service after they decided to abandon a trial on the basis that our client, who suffered Asperger’s Syndrome, was not a competent witness, leaving her with no access to justice for the assaults she had suffered
- Obtaining the provision of appropriate aids and compensation for a disabled prisoner from the Prison Service following their failure to adequately assess or address his disability needs
Gender identity discrimination
- Challenging the company responsible for running a prison, HMP Dovegate, for their failure to provide a trans prisoner with access to appropriate healthcare services.
- Challenging the policies and procedures of a financial services provider that discriminated against trans people.
- Acting for a claimant who was subjected to gender identity-related harassment by an NHS Trust.
- Challenging an employer’s decision to refuse to allow a trans employee to use their preferred changing facilities.
- Representing a claimant in Employment Tribunal proceedings after they were subjected to harassment and direct discrimination by their employer because of their gender identity;
- Challenging a refusal by an NHS Trust to provide a young trans person with hormone blockers;
- Challenging a refusal by an NHS Trust to preserve a trans person’s gametes prior to prescribing and administering hormone treatment,
Maternity and pregnancy discrimination
Common examples of discrimination include:
- Not offering the same training or promotion opportunities to a woman because she is pregnant or on maternity leave
- Treating a woman unfavourably because she has pregnancy-related sickness
- Dismissing a woman on maternity leave shortly before she is due to return to work (or after she returns) and keeping the person covering her maternity leave on instead
- Making a woman redundant because she is pregnant, or for reasons related to her maternity leave
The law protects job applicants and all workers, no matter how long they have worked – so a worker is protected from day one in the job. The employment tribunal deadline for bringing a claim is three months less one day from the discrimination so it is best to contact a lawyer within that time if possible.
Our specialist employment lawyers are experts in maternity, pregnancy, flexible and part-time working law. Our lawyers all have substantial experience in advising people about potential claims. We regularly advise employees about issues which arise during pregnancy and maternity leave such as:
- Sickness
- Pay and conditions
- Redundancy
- Promotion and training
- Return to work, including flexible and part-time working
Racial discrimination
Our team of expert employment lawyers represents workers who have been discriminated against because of their race. We have successfully brought and settled claims relating to race discrimination in the workplace. Examples of race discrimination at work include:
- a company favouring an employee of a particular nationality
- a worker being subjected to harassment because of their race
- an individual being forced to work in an environment where racist jokes are made
It is also unlawful for service providers such as healthcare providers, social services and retailers including banks, travel agents and travel companies to discriminate on the grounds of race. Our human rights lawyers have successfully represented people who have suffered discrimination at the hands of many such organisations and have secured compensation and apologies for such discrimination.
Religion and belief discrimination
This includes not only religions that are extensively recognised in the UK but also the wider concept of beliefs, such as philosophical beliefs.
We have a team of expert employment lawyers who represent workers who have been discriminated against because of religion or belief. We have successfully brought and settled claims relating to religion and belief discrimination in the workplace. Examples of religion and belief discrimination at work include:
- a company favouring an employee of a particular religion
- a worker not being allowed to pray without justification
- an individual being forced to work in an environment where jokes about a belief are made
Sexual orientation discrimination
The specialist employment team has acted for many gay men and women who have been discriminated against because of sexual orientation. This includes sexual orientation discrimination in relation to recruitment, selection for promotion and training and in pay.
Examples of this include:
- Stereotyping, i.e. making assumptions about how gay people behave, for example not employing a gay man at a child care centre because of an assumption that the safety of children will be compromised
- Appointing or promoting a person because of their sexual orientation whether it be because of a conscious or unconscious preference or prejudice.
It is also unlawful for service providers such as healthcare providers, social services and retailers including banks, travel agents and travel companies to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation.