Dismissal

[ch 17: page 117]

Dismissal for a discriminatory reason (for example, sacking someone because you discover that they are pregnant) is an act of direct discrimination. A claim can be brought from day one of the employment (see Chapter 18).

Employees who resign rather than carry out their employer’s instructions to discriminate are also protected, even if they are not the target of the discrimination, for example, if they are not black but are instructed to discriminate against a black worker.

The ending (and non-renewal) of a fixed-term contract qualifies as a dismissal. It can also produce direct discrimination, for example, where a fixed-term contract is not renewed because the employee is pregnant, or indirect discrimination, where the impact of a decision to dismiss falls more heavily on a group that share a protected characteristic, such as women (Whiffen v Milham Ford Girls School [2001] IRLR 468).