Caste 




The issue of caste affects approximately 400,000 people in the UK. Caste is a hereditary division rooted in Hindu society, based on factors such as wealth, rank or occupation.




The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 includes a new power to ban caste discrimination and to adjust the definition of “race” in the EA 10 to include caste. A government consultation on caste discrimination closed on 18 September 2017, and the government’s response is awaited. 



Meanwhile, in Chandhok v Tirkey [2014] UKEAT/0190/14/KN, the EAT has confirmed that caste discrimination will already be covered by the EA 10 if it is part of an existing protected characteristic, usually “ethnic origin”. Someone’s caste is likely to be part of their ethnic origin where it is based on descent, or contains an identifiable ethnic identity. The Cambridge Employment Tribunal awarded £183.713 of compensation to Ms Tirkey, which was what she would have earned had she been paid the National Minimum Wage.