As an employee, you have the right to expect certain things from your employer. One is that it provides you with a safe workplace, and that includes doing its best to ensure your workplace is discrimination-free.
Every employee has a right to go home at the end of the day without people treating them badly because of their skin color, gender, physical ability, race or other such characteristics that form part of who they are. To be clear – it is not illegal for people to mistreat each other at work, although it is preferable if they don’t. What is unlawful is if the mistreatment is based on a person’s protected characteristics.
Employers need to be proactive
Your employer should have clear company policies in place regarding discrimination. If people know where the line is, they are less likely to cross it. Putting this in a document is essential, but so is reinforcing it regularly through other means, such as training sessions.
Employers must take complaints seriously
The majority of employees will not come complain about discrimination without at least some foundation. If an employer ignores them or downplays their concerns it leaves perpetrators free to continue and perhaps increase the level of discrimination. It may also put others with genuine concerns off reporting incidents for fear it will be in vain. Your employer needs to take every complaint seriously without jumping to conclusions.
If your employer does not do these things you are within your rights to learn more about your legal options to hold them to account if you have suffered discrimination while at work.