Equality and Human Rights Commission

Employees have the right not to be dismissed or selected for redundancy because of their gender, marital or civil partnership status.

You may have a sex discrimination claim if:

• You were dismissed for poor performance and yet someone of the opposite sex who has also performed badly was not.
• You were dismissed for lateness in circumstances where someone of the opposite sex was not.
• The criteria used in a redundancy situation put one sex at a particular disadvantage and could not be justified.
• You were dismissed because you could not comply with an imposed change in your working hours
• You were dismissed or made redundant for a reason connected with pregnancy.

The Sex Discrimination Act applies to both men and women and covers a broad range of employment situations including partnerships, contract workers, professional bodies and institutions that issue qualifications, which are required for a particular trade or profession.

You may also have a claim under the Equal Pay Act if your redundancy pay was less than a man's redundancy pay in the same circumstances: see equal pay.