Defining the limits of discrimination law in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Even after the codification of anti-discrimination legislation in the Equality Act 2010, UK anti-discrimination law is caught in an embedded tension between principle and pragmatism. It is designed to give effect to the principles of equal treatment, non-discrimination and respect for human dignity. However, its scope and substance has often been limited by reference to pragmatic concerns, such as the need to minimize regulatory burdens and to maximize business efficiency, which sit uncomfortably with these principled underpinnings. This tension between principle and pragmatism tends to play out in particular with regard to debates about what exceptions should be carved out of the general prohibition on discrimination set out in the UK legislation. UK legislatures and courts have often been quick to adopt a ‘pragmatic orientation’ in this context. However, this approach can be difficult to reconcile with the more purposive, rights-protective, principled orientation of the European Union law and, to a lesser extent, the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights.