What is victimisation?

What is victimisation?

This article answers that question.

• Have you witnessed (or experienced) discrimination at work?
• Have you reported it?
• Were you mistreated because you reported it, or because you supported someone else who did, or because your employer believes you’re supporting someone who did?

If you answered yes, you might have been victimised and can make a claim for compensation.

We are experienced employment solicitors who support employees in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who are in dispute with their employers.

Defining victimisation

Victimisation is defined in the dictionary as “the action of singling someone out for cruel or unjust treatment”.

Victimisation under the Equality Act 2010 (and equivalent legislation in NI) is different from the more general definition as it prevents an employee from being mistreated because they have taken steps to prevent themselves or others from suffering discrimination.

For example, you should not be shouted at, ostracised, refused promotion, or threatened with disciplinary action, if you claim to have been mistreated in breach of the Equality Act 2010.

If everyone at work is treated in exactly the same way, you can’t claim you’re being victimised. However, you might be able to make a victimisation claim if you’ve been deliberately picked on or left out.

What does the law say?

The nine protected characteristics covered by the Equality Act 2010 are:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage or civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion and beliefs
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

Someone with one or more of those characteristics should not be treated badly at work because of that characteristic. If it happens to you or someone else, it’s discrimination and you have the right to report it without fear of reprisal.

Victimisation: Protected acts

Victimisation is being treated badly because you’ve done a ‘protected act’. These include:

• Making a claim or complaint of discrimination under the Equality Act 2010
• Helping someone else to make a claim by giving evidence or information
• Making an allegation that your employer or a colleague has breached the Act
• Doing anything else in connection with the Act

There must be a link between you carrying out the protected act, and the unfair treatment you received as a result.

The Equality Act 2010 protects you against victimisation, whether you have a protected characteristic or not.

Examples of victimisation

Imagine your boss makes racist statements in the workplace and you bring a claim against them for discrimination. Since then, the working relationship has become awkward and they no longer invite you to team meetings.

In that situation, you can make a claim for discrimination and you can also claim for victimisation. You’ve been mistreated at work because you made a claim.

Now imagine a different situation. One of your colleagues has made a claim against your boss for sexual harassment. You saw and heard what happened, so your colleague invited you to help them prepare a statement. You think what your boss did was wrong, so you were happy to do so. However, since then, your boss has stopped inviting you to team meetings.

In that case, you could make a claim for victimisation. You’ve been mistreated because you supported someone else to make a claim.

Now imagine the same scenario… This time, you witnessed what happened but you were nervous about getting involved, so you told your colleague you were sorry but you were unable to support them. They went ahead and made their claim alone. However, you’ve since been excluded from team meetings anyway, because your boss thinks you helped make the complaint.

You can make a claim for victimisation even if you didn’t actually do anything in relation to the complaint.

What is NOT victimisation

Any evidence you give must be true and accurate. You can’t make up a complaint because you hold a grudge against your boss, for example, and then claim you’ve been victimised.

What should you do?

Some potential options:

1. If you’re being victimised at work, you could attempt to deal with it informally. If you feel you can, have a chat with the person you think is victimising you and discuss how you’d like their behaviour to change
2. If that doesn’t work, you should make a formal complaint against them. To do this, check your staff handbook and follow the grievance procedure. It might say you should submit the details in writing to your HR department, for example
3. If that doesn’t work, contact Acas/LRA and see if the situation can be resolved with their support
4. If that doesn’t work, talk to us. We are expert employment solicitors who can help build your victimisation claim and take it all the way to the employment tribunal if necessary

We deal with cases of victimisation all the time. At any of those stages, you can contact us for support. We’ll advise what you should do next and how much you might win if you take your case to court.

Related reading

• Can I get compensation for victimisation?
• Is there a Discrimination Act in the UK?
• How to protect discrimination rights of part-timers at work

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