We have all been faced with either nepotism, cronyism or both. Whether we have experienced these first-hand, or merely witnessed them, I am sure we can all agree that they are by no means ethical. However, can the lack of a moral compass mean that one is automatically breaking the law? Well, not necessarily.
There is, unfortunately, no law against nepotism, cronyism or just plain favouritism. There is, however, a law against discriminating against someone who possesses a protected characteristic. In other words, if your employer treats you unfavourably or promotes somebody over you due to their discriminatory beliefs, then you may have a case against them.
The Equality Act 2010 protects the following characteristics:
1. Age
2. Disability
3. Gender reassignment.
4. Marriage and civil partnership.
5. Pregnancy and maternity.
6. Race
7. Religion or belief.
8. Sex
9. Sexual orientation
The Equality Act is also relevant when you are out looking for work. To give an example, it would be illegal to ask a woman if she has children or wants to have children under the aforementioned Act. Not hiring women or not promoting them due to their children or desire to have them is, sadly, more common than one might think.
Similarly, employers are not allowed to ask you if you are religious. They could, however, cleverly phrase their question by asking about your availability during the week. In this way, they may be able to find out if you are religious and what religion you practice based on your answer. For instance, if you state that you are unavailable during certain times of the day every day and on days that coincide with various Eid celebrations, your interviewer could easily come to the conclusion that you are Muslim. Finding out your religion may lead to discrimination as they may feel that your job responsibilities will overlap with your religious duties, or they may just dislike religious people.
With regard to your age, an interviewer cannot ask your age directly, as this would be illegal under the Equality Act due to age discrimination. They can, however, cleverly go around the question by asking when you graduated secondary school or university. This is just as important for recruiters to know, as a seemingly innocent question such as how old somebody is could land them in big trouble.
Now, once you have your foot in the door, it may be even harder to prove discrimination. For instance, if you and your colleague are both up for promotion, (and you are from a BAME background, and your colleague is not) if you are not promoted then it may be hard to know if it was due to discrimination or that your colleague was simply performing better than you are. Say the reason was the former, it would still be hard to prove unless the company has a culture of not promoting BAME employees or if your supervisor/manager told you outright that you would not be promoted due to your background. Even then, this would still be wildly difficult to prove as it would be your word against theirs unless other witnesses were present. Even if you do decide to take it further and go to HR, there is a high chance that they will not be much help as HR is usually there to protect the business rather than the employees.
With this being said, my advice would be to not waste anytime. If you are in a toxic workplace that does not value, give you the chance to grow and develop and does not promote you when you deserve it, then move elsewhere. Find a place where management is fairer and more encouraging and where you are given the opportunity to grow and flourish in your career.
Realistically, if the battle is between you and a corporation, you will most likely lose. But remember that just because you lost the battle does not mean you will also lose the war. In other words, just because it did not work out for you in one place does not mean that you cannot find success in another.
No matter what, always make sure that you focus on the bigger picture (which is succeeding in your career) rather than one upping a dictatorial manager. Furthermore, when you finally do leave your workplace, do not burn any bridges. It may feel good to curse out your manager in the moment or berate them for treating you unfairly, but it will not do you any good. In fact, it will give them the perfect excuse to taint your name in the industry and provide negative references about you, ensuring that you find career progression much harder than it needs to be.
Please note that this post does not constitute legal advice. If you require any legal advice, please consult a qualified professional.
