What is meant by a protected characteristic and who could be included in it?
Protected characteristics are the grounds on which discrimination is unlawful. Each of the nine protected characteristics could include various manifestations. For instance, disability includes not just physical disability, but also a range of learning disabilities. Race includes a range of ethnic groups, such as Asian or Asian British, Black or Black British, Chinese, Mixed White/Asian/Black African/Caribbean or Other Asian/Black/Ethnic/Mixed/Other, and White British/Irish/Welsh/Other. Age covers all age groups. Sexual orientation includes lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Religion or belief includes all defined religions (for instance, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, etc.) or beliefs (for instance, agnostics, atheism, etc.). For legal definitions of the nine protected characteristic, please see the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s website|.
