Direct Discrimination

The statutory test is a single sentence: 'A person (A) discriminates against another (B) if, because of a protected characteristic, A treats B less favourably than A treats or would treat others.' It is a comparative test — the claimant's treatment is measured against how the discriminator treats, or would treat, someone without that characteristic in materially the same circumstances.

Age is treated differently from every other protected characteristic: 'If the protected characteristic is age, A does not discriminate against B if A can show A's treatment of B to be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim' — direct age discrimination can be objectively justified, whereas direct discrimination because of the other eight protected characteristics cannot. The Act also refines the test for particular characteristics: for race, 'less favourable treatment includes segregating B from others'; for sex, 'less favourable treatment of a woman includes less favourable treatment of her because she is breast-feeding'; and for disability, a claimant who is not themselves disabled cannot claim direct discrimination merely because someone else was treated more favourably as a disabled person.