The law protects staff and students from discrimination on the following grounds:

Gender

It is unlawful to discriminate against someone on grounds that they are female or male, on grounds that they are pregnant, on grounds of their marital status or on grounds of their gender reassignment status (i.e. whether the person has undergone, or plans to undergo, gender reassignment).  The main pieces of legislation here are the Equal Pay Act 1970 and Sex Discrimination Act 1976.  As with many of the anti-discrimination Acts, these pieces of legislation have been amended several times since they were first introduced.

Race

it is unlawful to discriminate against someone on grounds of their: race (e.g. whether they are African or Caucasian), their colour (e.g. whether they are black or white), nationality (e.g. whether someone is Polish or Indian), their national origin (e.g whether someone is Scottish or English) or their ethnic origin (e.g. whether someone is a Gypsy Traveller).  The main piece of legislation here is the Race Relations Act 1976.

Disability

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) protects disabled people from discrimination.  In essence, a disabled person is defined as being anyone who has a long-term mental or physical impairment which has a significant impact on the person’s ability to carry out normally day-to-day activities.  This is a broad definition, which does not only cover people with a sensory impairment (e.g. someone who is deaf, hard of hearing, blind or partially-sighted) or someone with a mobility impairment.  It can also cover people with significant mental health difficulties, someone with a significant facial disfigurement, or someone with a long-term medical condition - such as HIV, cancer, diabetes or epilepsy.

Initially, when the DDA came into force, it only covered areas such as employment.  In 2001, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act came into force.  This piece of legislation extended the original DDA so that it also covered the provision of educational opportunities, including degree courses, and learning and teaching issues.

Crucially, the DDA also places a duty onto employers, service providers and educational institutions, including universities and their staff, to make “reasonable adjustments” for disabled people - including disabled students, applicants, visitors and employees.

Sexual orientation

It is unlawful to discriminate against someone because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or heterosexual. The main pieces of legislation that are relevant here are the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 - which prohibit discrimination in terms of how people are recruited, employed and treated at work - and the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 - which prohibit discrimination against people in the delivery of goods and services and in terms of how people are treated by educational institutions, including universities.

Religion or belief

It is unlawful to discriminate against someone because of their religion or belief. The main pieces of legislation here are the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 and the Equality Act 2006. Again, employment issues and the delivery of educational opportunities, goods and services are covered by these regulations. Everyone is covered by the regulations, irrespective of whether or not they have a religious belief. It is therefore possible to be unlawfully discriminated against because you do not have a religious belief (e.g. because you are an atheist).

Age

It is unlawful to discriminate against someone on grounds of their age. Again, as with most of the other pieces of legislation, the law protects everyone equally, irrespective of their age. You could be unlawfully discriminated against because you are 15 or because you are 85. The most relevant piece of legislation is the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006.

The above pieces of legislation cover your experience as a member of staff at the University of Leeds.  They also cover the way in which you design and deliver courses and provide services and educational opportunities to students.