Workplace Discrimination and Employee Rights

Published on 12th June 2025

Authored By: Himanshi Bansal

Lloyd Law College

Abstract

In the present article topic related to discrimination at the workplace, its root causes, will be discussed in depth, and the importance of employee rights will be discussed in detail, with related statutory laws and provisions. The key points regarding to need for employment rights shall be seen in the present article.

Keywords: Workplace discrimination, laws, sex sex-based discrimination, disability based discrimination, employee rights.

Introduction

The workplace is known as the environment where formal work takes place. In a formal context, it can be further understood as a physical or virtual location where an individual works as an employee and maintains an official relationship. It can be traditional, such as working in a factory, or modern, such as working from home.

Discrimination can be defined as derogatory actions such as unequal treatment in the public or private sphere. Discrimination in the workplace can be defined as unequal or unfair treatment in an official setting where individuals, based on their cultural background, race, sex, religion, or nationality, face a lot of problems.

Employee Rights in the workplace can be understood as protection and safeguards for employee in the period of their working period against any unfair or unjust practice. It could be in the form of harassment, denial of a reasonable workplace change, unequal pay for the same work, etc.

This article will explain why Employee Rights are important in the workplace and what is discrimination and all the related topics.

Workplace Discrimination

Discrimination cannot be said to be a wrong concept, as discrimination sometimes even helps in an economic context, as it differentiates between the needy and the elite allowing for helping the individual with their needs and necessities.

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 2- states that everyone is entitled to all the freedoms listed in the UDHR, “without distinction of any kind such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” [1]

Other status in the present statement is mainly cited to expand the list of people specifically protected. Although the term ‘gender’ isn’t mentioned in it, because in the earlier world ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ were inter changeably used and were considered as same.

In the introduction to the article, it is clearly understood that unfair treatment or unacceptable behaviour in the workplace amounts to Discrimination. Why does it happen?

The answer to the question is self-explanatory after the gist. Discrimination in the workplace often happens because of a stereotypical mindset (cast or class)

Sex based (gender identity or sexual orientation)
Disability
Race or National origin
Pregnancy discrimination

There are various cases which have helped in establishing Laws and creating awareness of the need.

Gender Based Discrimination

What is gender?

“Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls, and boys that are socially constructed.”[2]

The term seems simple, yet it encompasses many complexities from the victim’s perspective. Society often overlooks the circumstances and viewpoints of victims, but it is crucial to understand that advocating for a victim (even oneself) is vital. Discrimination can encompass various categories (civil, criminal). In a workplace context, such matters are often treated as internal committee discussions, typically following the firm’s internal policies.

Transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming individuals are particularly vulnerable to this form of discrimination due to cissexism, which is often characterised by hatred, anger, frustration, and miscommunication, among other factors.

The discrimination isn’t stopped only to any particular gender, but rather faced by the whole mankind, the ratio can differ, but not the issue that is faced. Not necessary that an individual who belongs to a certain background doesn’t face any unfair treatment.

Discrimination can be discussed as a topic that encompasses minute details from every sphere, representing a vast concept in itself. This undignified act does not only refer to specific actions, such as defamation, libel, or slander (including misgendering or knowingly mispronouncing), but also includes a broad range of behaviours, such as defaming actions like displaying objectionable symbols. The restricted use of restrooms for transgender individuals or disadvantaging someone based on their gender or pronouns also falls under this category. It is often noted that people are intimidated on these grounds, leading to gender-based discrimination.

Gender-based discrimination and derogatory slang are noted not only in informal settings but also in formal ones. For instance, if individuals of different genders compete for the same position and one of them is selected, the outcome is often connected to their gender (male, female). If picturing the statement in two scenarios –

Scenario 1: If a woman achieves the position, some people will view it positively (from the perspective that she worked hard to attain it), while others will view it negatively (thinking that women can easily achieve such positions through illicit methods). Conversely, in scenario 2, if a man attains the position easily compared to a woman, it highlights that all genders face various issues in their own ways.

The discrimination increased for women in this period, from 67.2% in 2004-05 to 75.7% in 2019-20 [3]

Sex Based Discrimination

Sex based discrimination is a very broad area where there are several treating someone unfavourably because of their sex, including their sexual orientation, transgender status, or sometimes due to pregnancy. This not only stops here, but also in the health care sector, where it can be noted in the societal aspect where men and women are not treated equally. Educational qualification for a certain level also depended upon the sex of a child.

Sex based discrimination in the workplace can be understood as

Harassment
Unequal pay for the same work
Unfair treatment
Denial of opportunity
Pregnancy discrimination

Harassment – this can be explained in many aspects, one of which is asking for sexual favours or making remarks related to the sex of an individual, or some conduct creating a hostile environment for the employee.

Unequal pay for the same work – often this is marked that there are differences in the payment of two individuals performing the same task from a similar background due to the different sex of individuals.

Denial of opportunities – the opportunity to attain a senior position or team leadership, or any other advancement in career, because of the gender of an individual.

Unfair treatment – this can be labelled as the difference in workload, performance report, or conduct of an individual in the premises; also, the laws relating are at times different.

Disability-Based Discrimination

Disability means the person is not able to perform a certain task due to some physical or mental challenges faced by the individual. The term acting acts as an umbrella and covers various kinds of challenges faced by the differently abled people, such as

Visually challenged (impaired vision)
Physically challenged (missing or not working of internal or external body organs)
Mentally challenged (lunatic person)

The ILO defines persons with disabilities at work as “individuals whose prospects of securing, returning to, retaining and advancing in suitable employment are substantially reduced as a result of a duly recognised physical, sensory, intellectual or mental impairment”.[4]

When does Discrimination occur?

Workplace discrimination against the disabled rises when a colleague or an employer, or together, they treat the differently-abled in an objectionable way, or the employer treats them less favourably because of their disability. Failure to provide reasonable accommodation is also considered a form of discrimination.

Race or national origin-based discrimination

Race or national origin–based discrimination can be understood as unjust behaviour against an individual based on their ethnicity, national origin, or race, which negatively affects the employee in situation of promotion, hike in wages, and other terms of employment.

Nation-based or origin-based discrimination points out how individuals use derogatory language to wrongfully derogate someone’s ethnicity, either by mocking or stereotypical thoughts and beliefs. Hypothetical situation – an apartheid system followed in Western countries where, due to their race, people were treated unequally.

Discrimination can be understood in two ways

Direct – defaming or derogatory term and sentence

Indirect- knowingly framing a policy which would harm emotions or beliefs.

The accused can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a colleague, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.

Examples:

Verbal harassment or derogatory comments based on ethnicity or race.
Not providing with wage hike to others.
Refusal to hire or even promote to senior posts
Stereotypical thoughts and slurs

Pregnancy-Based Discrimination

Pregnancy-based discrimination can be seen as when a pregnant woman, post-partum childbirth or other medical conditions facing women are treated differently or given less value to their opinion. Not providing reasonable accommodation or a safe and secure environment to women, especially pregnant women. Denial in promotions or hikes due to pregnancy or even childbirth.

Unfavourable treatment of an employee because of pregnancy could entail anything from firing a pregnant worker, retaliating against them, or preventing them from taking time off. If an employee is treated worse than other employees because they are pregnant or because they have requested paid or unpaid leave because of their pregnancy, this type of behaviour also counts as discrimination.

Refusal to hire a pregnant woman or sometimes terminating the employee. It is observed in many MNCS that pregnant women without any notice are moved to other departments or categories (improvement cell).

Women, as per the statutory laws and legislation entitled to receive payment during maternity leave, but if they are not provided with it, it can amount to discrimination and cruelty.

Employee Rights

An employee can be defined as an individual who gets paid to work as per the job requirements and a prior signed agreement or contract. An employee is a person who does all the designated work according to the rank or position of the individual.

There are two terms to relate to develop a better understanding of the topic.

Employee and Employer

An employee is the person who is getting paid, whereas an Employer is the person who pays the individual to get the work done.

Right on the other hand can be described as a claim that every individual possesses as per citizenship and laws of the territory in which the individual resides or is a taxpayer of the particular state.

Employee Rights together are marked as the security an individual possesses during their work time within a particular firm, whether it is online or offline.

Offline work is the traditional set followed ever since industrialisation, although meeting with modern technological ideas and machinery.

Online form of work can be stated as the modern work, which is WFH work from home.

Employee rights

They were established to provide security for the employees and to secure the environment where they work. There are some basic rights which every firm has to maintain rest are dependent upon the internal policy forming committee of the industry or firm.

Basic Employee Rights

Certain basic employee rights –

Right to a safe and healthy work environment
Right to fair compensation
Right to redress grievances
Right to privacy
Right to be free from discrimination

Need for employment rights.

Labour laws or Employee rights are required and are very necessary as they help in maintaining a check and balance over the flow of power, as absolute power with the owner would lead to the creation of a dictatorship kind of administration.[5].

Employee rights in India are governed by the Labour Law · Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act,1970.

Relevant legislation

The following are the laws which are considered the basis and mandate for every firm to provide.

Constitutional Provisions

Article 14: It ensures equality before the law.
Article 15: It prohibits discrimination based on gender.
Article 16: It guarantees equal opportunities in public employment.

Key Legislations

The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976: It mandates equal pay for equal work.
The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961: It criminalises dowry demands and related practices.
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005: It provides safeguards against domestic abuse.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013: It establishes mechanisms to address workplace harassment.[6]

Conclusion

In the conclusion, the root causes for discrimination and the need for laws, etc, were highlighted, as well as the employee rights. The basic cause of discrimination was highlighted as stereotypical thinking’s.