No defence to direct discrimination 



With a few limited statutory exceptions, there is no defence to direct discrimination, except age discrimination (see page 204). An employer is not allowed to justify less favourable treatment (or “unfavourable” treatment in the case of pregnancy or maternity) due to a protected characteristic. For example, an employer cannot 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.