It is against the law to discriminate against anyone because of the following 'protected characteristics':

• age
• gender reassignment
• being married or in a civil partnership
• being pregnant or on maternity leave
• disability
• race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation

Under the Equality Act you are protected from discrimination:

• when you are in the workplace
• when you use public services like healthcare (for example, visiting your doctor or local hospital) or education (for example, at your school or college)
• when you have contact with public bodies like your local council or government departments
• when you use businesses and other organisations that provide services and goods (like shops, restaurants, banks and cinemas)
• when buying or renting property from housing associations and estate agents
• when you use transport
• when you join a club or association (for example, your local tennis club)

Different types of discrimination include:

Direct discrimination - This is where someone is treated less favourably (compared to another person) because of their protected characteristic e.g. race, religion, sex etc. This can be both intentionally or unintentionally.

Indirect discrimination - This is when a policy, practice, or rule that applies to everyone puts people of a certain religion or belief (like Muslims) at a particular disadvantage, and it cannot be justified as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Harassment - This is when someone is subjected to unwanted conduct related to a person being Muslim that either violates their dignity, or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment.

Victimisation - This is when someone is treated unfairly because they have made a complaint about discrimination, harassment or unlawful treatment, or helped someone else make such a complaint (e.g. as a witness or supporter).

Failure to make reasonable adjustments - This is when there is a failure to make reasonable adjustments for disabilities and other long term conditions. While there is no specific duty to make "reasonable adjustments" for religious beliefs under the same legal framework, employers must still avoid discriminating against employees based on religion or belief. This can be done be considering reasonable adjustments to roles, working patterns, or working environments to accommodate religious practices.

The following may be examples of potential direct discrimination, where Muslims are treated less favourably than others because of their religion or belief. This may relate to their actual or perceived Muslim identity:

Job rejection because of a Muslim Name - A qualified applicant is rejected for a job interview because of their Muslim name, while others with less experience but English-sounding names are invited.

Dismissal for wearing religious clothing - A Muslim woman is dismissed from her job for refusing to remove her hijab or starts to wear the hijab, even though it doesn't interfere with her work.

Refusal of service because of appearance - A visibly Muslim customer is refused entry to a restaurant or told the venue is full, while others are allowed in who do not have bookings.

Refusal to provide healthcare equally - A visibly Muslim patient is treated dismissively or denied the same level of care and respect as others.

The following may be examples of possible policy, practice, or rule that apply to everyone but puts people of a certain religion or belief (like Muslims) at a particular disadvantage, and cannot be justified as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim:

Workplace dress codes - A company has a "no head coverings" policy for all staff but this puts Muslim women who wears the hijab at a disadvantage, (unless this policy is genuinely necessary e.g., for safety).

Inflexible working - An employer refuses to allow reasonable flexibility to allow a short break so that a Muslim employee can pray unless it is not possible due to the nature of the role.

Holiday policies - A workplace does not grant time off during Muslim religious festivals such as Eid.

Th following may be examples of when someone is subjected to unwanted conduct related to a person being Muslim that either violates their dignity, or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment:

Mocking Islamic clothing - A Muslim woman wearing a hijab is constantly asked why she doesn't 'take it off and blend in' or jokes are repeatedly made about her clothing.

Jokes About Terrorism - A Muslim man is the target of repeated "jokes" from colleagues linking him to terrorism or bombings or being called 'Bin Laden' or 'ISIS' even if framed as humour as this can be degrading.

The following may be examples of when someone is treated unfairly because they have made a complaint about discrimination, harassment or unlawful treatment, or helped someone else make such a complaint (e.g. as a witness or supporter):

Retaliation after reporting anti-Muslim discrimination - A Muslim employee reports anti-Muslim comments made by a colleague. After complaining, they are side lined at work, removed from key projects, or given poor performance reviews.

Workplace exclusion - A Muslim worker raises a concern about lack of prayer space. Management accuses them of being difficult and colleagues begin to exclude them socially and professionally.

An employee who is forced to or prevented from wearing clothing which offends their religion or belief could give rise to a claim of indirect discrimination if the employer does not have a reasonable justification for the rule. Your employer should make sure any dress code does not discriminate against you. A flexible dress code is usually possible, as long as health and safety requirements are not at risk.

There is no specific requirement for an employer to provide prayer facilities. Your employer does not have to give you time of or provide facilities for religious observance. However, it is good practice for employers to try and provide such facilities if possible. For example, if you need a prayer room and there is a suitable room available your employer should consider your request seriously provided it does not disrupt others or your ability to do your job properly.

If an employee is prevented from taking a religious holiday even though they have followed the proper procedures for requesting holidays providing taking time off does not interfere with the smooth running of the organisation, then an employee could have a claim for indirect discrimination. However, the employer can argue an objective reason as to why the holiday was refused.

A person may not want to handle certain foods as it is forbidden to be eaten in their religion. For example, if you work in a supermarket, you may not want to handle pork. You should speak to your employer and ask if your work schedule could be arranged so you do not have to do this. An employer does not have to agree but may be able to manage your request, provided it does not affect the business.

Religious acts of worship are not covered by the Act, which gives some limited exemptions to religious and other belief organisations. These exemptions permit them to act in a way that would normally be prohibited, which means being able to discriminate because of some protected characteristics in the way they operate. This means they could provide (or even refuse to provide) all or some of their services to people based on a protected characteristic. For example, mosques may not employ women in certain roles (e.g. imam) or have separate services for men and women because they could claim they are complying with the doctrines of the religion and to avoid offending a significant number of its followers.

• Speak to your employer - Speak to your employer and try and get issue resolved informally.
• Grievance - If the informal approach does not work, then submit a grievance.
• Mediation - If you are not satisfied with the employer's response you can contact the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), which is a free service. This step is mandatory before taking any case to an employer's tribunal. ACAS may be able to help resolve the workplace dispute, including conciliation, mediation and arbitration. They can be contact on 0300 123 1100 / www.acas.org.uk. Another useful organization for advice is the Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS) Helpline should be contacted on 0808 800 0082 / www.https://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com.
• Tribunal - If an agreement cannot be reached between parties or the employer declines to participate, ACAS can issue a certificate, which gives one month to bring a claim via the tribunal. However, action via a tribunal needs to be taken WITHIN 3 MONTHS of employment ending or incident happening.

Further information including any fees that may be applicable: click here

You can find decisions on employment tribunal cases in England, Wales and Scotland from February 2017 onwards on the government website, which includes filters to help with the search for race and religious discrimination. These cases can provide useful information about why cases were not successful or successful. Sometimes individuals are not providing the all information that is needed.

• Make a complaint - Try to informally resolve the matter by contacting the trader or service provider or asking for their complaints policy and complain formally in writing. They may offer an apology or compensation.
• Escalate complaint - If you are not satisfied with the response or do not receive a reply, you can contact your local citizens advice bureau, the Equality Advisory Support Service(EASS) helpline or an ombudsman for that service.
• Alternative dispute resolution - If the issue is not resolved, you can use Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to resolve the situation. This is where an independent professional, called a mediator, conciliator or arbitrator, is used to help find a solution to a problem. Sometimes you can use a local community or religious mediation service free of charge. If you want to take legal action, the courts now generally expect you to have considered the use of ADR, before you start court action. You can contact the Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS) helpline for help with finding a mediator or conciliator -0808 800 0082 / www.https://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com.
• Legal Action - You may be able to take legal action against the trader or service provider. If you want to make a discrimination claim you need to apply to the court within 6 months of the discrimination you are complaining about. You should contact a specialist discrimination solicitor or barrister for more advice about whether you can bring a claim in the county court.

When escalating an complaint you can contact a sector specific ombudsman e.g. in health, finance, police etc. Ombudsman is vital for maintaining fairness and accountability across various sectors. They can investigate complaints about potential breaches of the Act. There are different ombudsman schemes that focus on specific sectors and are free to use and impartial in their investigations. Although this is not an exhaustive list, examples include:

• Financial Ombudsman
• Housing Ombudsman
• Independent Press Standards Organisation
• Legal Ombudsman
• Local Government Ombudsman
• Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
• Prison and Probation Ombudsman
• The Independent Office for Police Conduct

You can find more Ombudsman on the Ombudsman Association website click here