Victimisation

Treated badly after raising a complaint about discrimination? Victimisation is a distinct legal claim under the Equality Act 2010 — and it does not require you to have a protected characteristic at all.

Is victimisation the same as direct discrimination?

No, they are separate types of claim under the Equality Act 2010. Direct discrimination is about being treated worse because of a protected characteristic such as sex or race. Victimisation is about being treated badly because you did a protected act — for example complaining about discrimination — and it does not require you to have a protected characteristic at all.

What counts as a protected act?

There are four categories: bringing proceedings under the Equality Act 2010; giving evidence or information in connection with such proceedings; doing anything else for the purposes of, or in connection with, the Act; and making an allegation that someone has contravened the Act. Raising a grievance alleging discrimination, or supporting a colleague's complaint, can fall within these categories.

Do I have to prove the employer knew about my protected act?

You generally need to show the employer knew, or believed, that you had done or might do a protected act, and that this belief or knowledge caused the detrimental treatment. If the employer genuinely had no idea you had done anything of the kind, a victimisation claim is unlikely to succeed.

Can I be victimised for making a complaint that turns out to be wrong?

Yes, provided the complaint was made honestly and in good faith. Being mistaken does not remove protection. The exception is where a complaint is made in bad faith, knowingly false or maliciously — in that specific situation, the protected act exception can be lost.

Does victimisation protection continue after I leave a job?

Yes. The Equality Act 2010 extends protection against victimisation to conduct arising out of and closely connected to a former employment relationship, such as a poor reference given because a former employee had previously complained about discrimination.

How is a victimisation claim different from an unfair dismissal claim?

They can overlap, but they are legally distinct. Unfair dismissal is about whether a dismissal was procedurally and substantively fair. Victimisation is specifically about a detriment — which can include dismissal — caused by a protected act. Compensation for victimisation is not subject to the same statutory cap that applies to ordinary unfair dismissal compensation.

Can an employer victimise a job applicant, not just an existing employee?

Yes — victimisation protection is not limited to existing employees. A prospective employer who refuses to hire someone because they previously brought a discrimination claim against a former employer can also be found to have victimised that applicant.

The four protected acts

Section 27 protects four kinds of act: bringing proceedings alleging a breach of the Equality Act 2010; giving evidence or information in connection with proceedings under the Act; doing any other thing for the purposes of, or in connection with, the Act; and making an allegation that someone has contravened the Act. This covers formal tribunal claims, but also far more everyday conduct — raising an internal grievance alleging discrimination, supporting a colleague who has complained, or giving a witness statement in someone else's discrimination case can all count.

How victimisation differs from direct discrimination

Direct discrimination requires the tribunal to compare how you were treated against how someone without your protected characteristic was, or would have been, treated. Victimisation asks a different question entirely: were you subjected to a detriment because of a protected act? You do not need a protected characteristic at all to bring a victimisation claim — a manager who supports a colleague's discrimination complaint, and is then treated badly for it, can claim victimisation even without sharing the characteristic the original complaint concerned.

The bad faith exception

Protection is lost only in a narrow circumstance: where the protected act itself — typically an allegation or evidence given — was false and made in bad faith. An honest complaint that later turns out to be mistaken or unfounded remains protected; the exception exists to stop the protection being used to shield genuinely malicious, knowingly false allegations, not to punish people for complaints that simply did not succeed.

Remedies for a successful victimisation claim

Where a tribunal finds victimisation proven, compensation is assessed in broadly the same way as for other Equality Act 2010 claims — there is no fixed statutory cap, and an award can include financial losses flowing from the detriment, such as lost earnings, together with an award for injury to feelings assessed using the Vento bands.

Where the detriment amounted to dismissal, a tribunal can also make the usual unfair dismissal awards, but importantly the statutory cap that normally limits the compensatory award for ordinary unfair dismissal does not apply where the dismissal itself is found to be victimisation or discrimination.

An employee raises a formal grievance alleging that a colleague was passed over for promotion because of her race. Six weeks later, the employee who raised the grievance is herself overlooked for a role she was well qualified for, despite a strong appraisal history, and is told only that "someone else was a better fit." Because raising the grievance is a protected act, and the timing and lack of explanation support an inference of a causal link, the employee has a credible basis for a victimisation claim, separate from any discrimination claim relating to the original complaint.

Direct discrimination

Reasonable adjustments

Protected disclosure

Equality Act 2010, s.27

Victimisation — Employment Tribunal Glossary

What victimisation means under the Equality Act 2010, the four protected acts, and how it differs from direct discrimination.