Dismissal
[ch 7: page 257]Employers who dismiss for discriminatory reasons are in breach of equality law. Employees can bring a claim for discriminatory dismissal from the first day of their employment. There is no service requirement. Managers who engineer the dismissal because they are motivated by a protected characteristic can be personally liable, alongside the employer, for all losses reasonably flowing from the dismissal, including compensation for injury to feelings (see page 276).
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 applicant.