Direct discrimination is when someone’s rights are denied, or he or she is treated less favourably without an objective reason only because of a certain personal characteristic, or who they are.
Direct discrimination occurs when one person is treated less favourably than another person is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation, on one of the prohibited grounds (race, ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion etc.)
Direct discrimination is often the result of stereotypes people hold about specific groups.
In order for someone to show that they have been directly discriminated against, they must compare the treatment that they have received to the treatment of someone who does not have their particular characteristic (also called – a protected characteristic).
The difference of treatment must be between two situations that are comparable, similar or analogous, but not necessarily identical. The applicant must demonstrate that, having regard to the particular nature of his or her complaint, he/she was in a relevantly similar situation to others treated differently. Otherwise, if the situations involved are different, a differentiation between the two situations is perfectly legitimate.
example Men and women are in a comparable situation as regards parental leave. A single homosexual woman who is refused adoption is in the same situation as a single heterosexual woman.
example Pensioners employed within the civil service are not in a comparable situation to those employed within the private sector as regards their pension entitlement. A different treatment on their pension entitlement can be applied between these two types of employees as they are not in a similar situation.
Cases of direct discrimination can occur in all areas of life, such as the employment environment, access to goods and services, and with regard to social benefits and education. In this Guide, you can also read more about situations involving discrimination.
example Cases of direct discrimination in employment can include the refusal to hire you only because you are a Roma, or a woman over 45, or when a woman is dismissed because she is pregnant, or when a man is paid more than a woman for doing the same job. In an education context, direct discrimination occurs when there is a refusal to admit a child to a school because his or her family is of a certain religion, for example, Muslim. In the area of services, examples of direct discrimination would be a club’s refusal to grant entry due to someone’s darker skin colour, or when someone is refused access to a hotel because he or she is Roma or homosexual.
Direct discrimination also covers situations where a person is treated unfairly due to being associated with somebody (such as a relative, a friend or a colleague). This means that the ground for discrimination does not concern the claimants themselves but a person to whom they are related. This is discrimination by association.
example An employer refuses to send an employee on a training course because the employee, although heterosexual, openly supports a local LGBTI organisation.
example There is discrimination by association when the wife of a deceased husband is deprived of a substantial part of her inheritance, contrary to the will of the testator, because as he was a Muslim, his succession had been governed by Islamic law (sharia). The wife was treated differently than a beneficiary of a will made in accordance with the Civil Code, on the basis of her husband’s religion, not her religion.
Direct discrimination also includes cases where a person is treated unfairly because of a mistaken assumption. This is discrimination by assumption.
example A person is not offered a job or refused a service because an employer or a service provider mistakenly thinks this person is a Muslim, a Roma or gay.
In some, very limited cases, direct differential treatment may not constitute discrimination. To read more about these cases, see exceptions.