No defence to direct discrimination

With a few limited statutory exceptions (see list below), there is no defence to direct discrimination, except age discrimination (see page 207). Except in the case of age, an employer is not allowed to justify less favourable treatment due to a protected characteristic. For example, an employer is not allowed to justify not promoting female managers because clients prefer to deal with a man, or not putting a physically disabled worker in a client-facing role because the employer thinks they don’t fit the image of the business. In reality, employers rarely admit to direct discrimination, and this can make proving it very difficult.