Public and Commercial Services Union

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Race equality toolkit

Indirect race discrimination

What is indirect discrimination?

Indirect discrimination takes place where the employer treats all workers the same way, whatever their race etc, but the result of the treatment is that workers of a particular racial group are disadvantaged.

The easiest way to understand whether indirect discrimination is taking place in your workplace is to ask the following questions in order:

Was the worker selected for redundancy or prevented from getting promotion etc because of his/her inability to meet a certain requirement or condition at that time?
Was that requirement or condition apparently neutral ie which could be applied to all workers, regardless of their race?
Was it compulsory to meet the requirement or condition in order to avoid redundancy or gain promotion etc?
Was the requirement or condition one which proportionately fewer people from the same racial group as the worker could meet than people not of the worker’s racial group?
Can the employer prove the application of the requirement or condition was justifiable?

Have you experienced a racial incident at work? Are you not able to contact your local union representative? Ring the Racial Incident Hotline at PCS HQ on 020 7801 2678.

Indirect discrimination checklist

Check to see whether any of the following requirements and conditions apply to your workplace as they may have a discriminatory effect on Black workers.