ABSTRACT
The matter involves alternative meanings ascribed to the notion of direct discrimination. Nonetheless, the Explanatory Notes to the Equality Act 2010 made clear that perceived discrimination now applied to all but a select few of the protected characteristics covered by the Act. Aside from this doubt over remedies, a finding of perceived discrimination on the closed definition has potential for two more fuzzy borders. Many instances of perceived discrimination could also be categorised as associative discrimination, save that the association is mistaken. In order of preference, bypassing the comparison where there is sufficient evidence of the ‘reason why’ question would seem to be the most practical approach, albeit by ignoring a statutory element of ‘less favourable’. It can be concluded then, that the policy imperative to recognise perceived discrimination requires that statutory elements should be ignored, or imaginatively manipulated.
