What conditions are covered under the Equality Act 2010?
Asked by: Sydnie Renner | Last update: February 20, 2026Score: 4.7/5 (69 votes)
The Equality Act 2010 covers nine "protected characteristics" in Great Britain, making discrimination illegal based on age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation, protecting individuals in employment, services, education, and transport. It also offers protections for carers and women breastfeeding, and specifically defines disability as a physical or mental impairment with substantial, long-term negative effects on daily activities, including automatic coverage for HIV, cancer, and MS.
What medical conditions qualify for disability?
Medical conditions that qualify for disability are those severe enough to prevent substantial work for at least a year, spanning musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, mental health, cancer, and immune system disorders, among others, all evaluated against the SSA's detailed "Blue Book" of listings, focusing on how conditions limit basic work activities like lifting, sitting, or remembering. Common examples include severe arthritis, heart disease, depression, back injuries, and autoimmune illnesses.
What illnesses are covered by the Equality Act?
You'll always be considered disabled under the Equality Act if:
- you have cancer - or any condition that is likely to become cancer if it's not treated, for example skin growths.
- you have multiple sclerosis.
- you have HIV - even if you don't have any symptoms.
What are the 4 types of discrimination under the Equality Act?
If you're disabled. If you're disabled under the Equality Act, you're protected from all the main types of discrimination - direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation. You can check if you're disabled under the Equality Act.
What are the 9 grounds of the employment Equality Act?
The 9 grounds of discrimination in Ireland are gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, age, disability, race, religion, and membership in the Traveller community. What is the IHREC? The IHREC is the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.
What is a disability under the Equality Act 2010?
What are 5 fair reasons for dismissal?
The five fair reasons for dismissal under UK employment law are Conduct, Capability/Qualifications, Redundancy, Breach of a Statutory Duty/Restriction, and Some Other Substantial Reason (SOSR), each requiring a fair process, like investigation, warnings, and consultation, to avoid unfair dismissal claims. These reasons cover employee behavior, inability to do the job (skill/health), role elimination, legal constraints, and other significant business needs.
What are 5 examples of unfair discrimination?
Five examples of unfair discrimination include being passed over for promotion due to race or gender (racial/gender bias), paying women less for the same job as men (unequal pay), denying reasonable accommodations for a disability (disability discrimination), harassing someone for their sexual orientation (sexual orientation discrimination), or retaliating against an employee for reporting harassment (retaliation). These actions unfairly disadvantage individuals based on protected traits rather than merit, violating laws like Title VII.
Who does the Equality Act 2010 apply to?
The Equality Act became law in 2010. It covers everyone in Britain and protects people from discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
How to prove you are being discriminated against?
The 4 Legal Criteria Needed to Prove Discrimination at Work
- You Belong to a Protected Class. ...
- Your Employer Made an Adverse Employment Decision. ...
- You Met Reasonable Expectations for Job Performance, Job Qualifications, or Availability to Work. ...
- Your Employer's Adverse Actions Suggest Discrimination.
What are the 7 areas of discrimination?
While there isn't a universal "7 types" list, discrimination is broadly categorized by the protected characteristics people are unfairly treated for, commonly including Race/Color, Religion, Sex (Gender, Pregnancy, LGBTQ+ status), National Origin, Age, Disability, and Genetic Information, with variations like harassment, retaliation, and familial status also recognized, all stemming from treating someone differently based on these inherent traits.
What are the 7 types of disabilities?
Different types of disabilities
- vision Impairment.
- deaf or hard of hearing.
- mental health conditions.
- intellectual disability.
- acquired brain injury.
- autism spectrum disorder.
- physical disability.
- dyslexia.
What is the easiest diagnosis to get disability?
There's no single "easiest" condition, as the Social Security Administration (SSA) focuses on how your impairment stops you from working, but musculoskeletal disorders (severe back pain, arthritis) are frequently approved due to strong medical evidence like MRIs, while some terminal illnesses qualify instantly through Compassionate Allowances (like ALS), making them fast-tracked. Physical disabilities often have higher approval rates than mental health issues because they provide more objective evidence, but strong documentation of limitations is key for any claim.
What are the 21 disabilities lists?
What are the various types of disabilities recognized under international and local laws?
- Blindness.
- Low Vision.
- Leprosy Cured Persons.
- Hearing Impairment (Deaf and Hard of Hearing)
- Locomotor Disability.
- Dwarfism.
- Intellectual Disability.
- Mental Illness.
What is the most commonly approved disability?
The most approved disability category for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), accounting for about a third of approvals, is Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue Disorders, including arthritis, back pain, degenerative disc disease, and fibromyalgia, due to their severe impact on mobility and daily work. Other highly approved conditions involve Mental Disorders (like depression and bipolar disorder) for younger recipients and Cardiovascular or Neurological Disorders, but musculoskeletal issues consistently rank highest overall for SSDI.
What are the 14 disability categories?
The 14 disability categories, defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), are: Autism, Deaf-Blindness, Deafness, Developmental Delay, Emotional Disturbance, Hearing Impairment, Intellectual Disability, Multiple Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment, Other Health Impairment, Specific Learning Disability, Speech or Language Impairment, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Visual Impairment (including blindness). These categories help schools provide specialized education services to eligible children, covering a wide range of conditions affecting learning and development.
Which medical condition would not be considered a disability?
Broken limbs, sprains, concussions, appendicitis, common colds, or influenza generally would not be disabilities. A broken leg that heals normally within a few months, for example, would not be a disability under the ADA.
What is the 80% rule in discrimination?
The 80% Rule, or Four-Fifths Rule, is an EEOC guideline to spot potential hiring discrimination: if a protected group (like a race, sex, or ethnic group) is selected at less than 80% the rate of the most favored group, it suggests "adverse impact," requiring the employer to justify the practice as job-related and necessary. It's a statistical tool, not definitive proof, indicating when further investigation into disparate impact is warranted in employment decisions.
What is the 3 part test for discrimination?
To prove discrimination, a complainant has to prove that: they have a characteristic protected by the Human Rights Code [Code]; they experienced an adverse impact with respect to an area protected by the Code; and. the protected characteristic was a factor in the adverse impact.
How hard is it to win a discrimination case?
The Harvard Law and Policy Review published an article in 2009 which found that employees only win discrimination cases against their employers 15% of the time. Luckily, public awareness of the need for consequences increases your odds of finding justice.
Which conditions don't count as a disability under the Equality Act 2010?
An addiction to alcohol, nicotine or any other substance isn't a disability. But you might be disabled if you have an impairment caused by addiction. For example, if you have liver disease or depression caused by alcohol dependency.
What is a list of disabilities?
A disability is a broad term encompassing physical, sensory, intellectual, developmental, mental health, and chronic medical conditions that affect a person's ability to perform daily activities, with examples including vision/hearing loss, autism, ADHD, depression, arthritis, cancer, and traumatic brain injury, often categorized by impairments in mobility, learning, mental health, or body systems like neurological or immune functions.
How to prove discrimination?
Direct evidence is the best way to show that you experienced discrimination and can include verbal comments or statements written in memos, notes, emails, or other personal or professional communications.
What is the most common discrimination claim?
The single most common form of direct discrimination is disability discrimination. More than 24,000 workers brought successful claims about employers mistreating them or denying them disability accommodations in 2020. 36.1% of all discrimination claims involve disability discrimination.
How to prove you are being treated unfairly at work?
To prove unfair treatment at work, you must meticulously document every incident (dates, times, people, details), gather evidence like emails, texts, performance reviews, and witness statements, review and compare company policies, and consider filing complaints with HR or the EEOC, noting that comparator evidence (how others were treated) is key, often requiring legal counsel to build a strong case.
What are the 9 grounds for discrimination?
Equal Status
- 'the gender ground'
- 'the civil status ground' (formerly marital status)
- 'the family status ground'
- 'the sexual orientation ground'
- 'the religion ground'
- 'the age ground'
- 'the disability ground'
- 'the ground of race' (includes 'race, colour, nationality or ethnic or national origins')