Steina McKenna, W&P Legal head of partnerships and client engagement, sets out what employers need to know about treating LGBTQ+ staff fairly
Behind the vibrant, joyful celebrations of Pride next month lie a powerful and enduring purpose: to confront the discrimination LGBTQ+ people continue to experience and to affirm everyone’s fundamental right of to live openly and safely.
Progress has been significant, but discrimination is far from a thing of the past despite being illegal. Acts of discrimination don’t necessarily arrive in dramatic forms, they’re often subtle and systemic, embedded in attitudes, assumptions, and long-standing social norms.
Many LGBTQ+ people still face exclusion within their workplaces. Fear of judgement or rejection can lead individuals to hide important parts of who they are, sometimes for years, and sometimes permanently. The emotional toll of this self-censorship is significant, affecting mental health and wellbeing, which in turn affects your business in terms of productivity, absenteeism, and staff turnover.
While many employers have become more inclusive, inequality shows up in missed opportunities, biased comments, or a lack of visible support for LGBTQ+ colleagues. Some feel they must alter or disguise their identity to avoid negative reactions, a pressure that reinforces a sense of ‘otherness’ and diminishes
a person’s ability to contribute fully and authentically in their professional environment.
The Equality Act 2010 recognises unfair treatment can happen in different ways, some overt and some harder to spot. Understanding these distinctions helps you to create workplaces where staff feel protected and valued.
Direct discrimination happens when someone is treated less favourably specifically because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, or because they are associated with someone who is lesbian, gay or bisexual.
It includes refusing to hire someone because they’re in a same-sex relationship, overlooking an employee for promotion due to assumptions about how clients might react, or treating someone differently because
colleagues make unfair judgements about their personal life.
Direct discrimination is unlawful even if you did not intend to cause harm. The core test is simple: would this person have been treated differently if their sexual orientation (or perceived sexual orientation) were different? If the answer is yes, it is likely discriminatory. Indirect discrimination occurs when an organisation applies a policy, rule, or practice that appears neutral but has a disproportionate negative impact on people of a particular sexual orientation, and the employer cannot justify it as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
In the funeral sector, this might involve paperwork or procedures that assume heterosexual relationships, inadvertently excluding same sex partners from decisions. It may also arise when social events, traditions or staff practices are built around assumptions of heterosexuality, leading LGBTQ+ staff to feel invisible or unable to participate fully. Indirect discrimination may not be deliberate, yet it can still create a hostile or unequal environment. The law requires you to consider whether your systems and processes genuinely work for everyone, not just for the majority.
These protections apply across all aspects of employment. You must ensure job adverts, interview questions and selection processes are neutral, fair and do not create barriers for LGBTQ+ candidates. Curiosity about an applicant’s personal life, even when framed as friendly conversation, can be inappropriate and discriminatory if it relates to their sexual orientation. Terms and conditions, such as pay,
benefits, family leave and workplace policies, must be applied consistently, ensuring that same-sex partners are recognised and treated equally. The law also requires employers to prevent harassment, which
includes unwanted conduct related to sexual orientation that violates a person’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile or humiliating environment. In emotionally charged professions like funeral care, such protections matter deeply; staff should never feel they must tolerate discriminatory behaviour from colleagues or members of the public.
Where concerns arise, the law also protects employees from victimisation. This means that no one should be treated unfavourably because they’ve raised a complaint of discrimination, supported someone else’s
complaint, or even been suspected of doing so. This protection is essential: people are far more likely to report unacceptable behaviour when they trust their employer to respond fairly, without fear that speaking up will harm their career.
In the funeral sector, where dignity, empathy and professionalism are central to the work, aligning practice with the law is not just about avoiding legal repercussions. It is about ensuring that every member of staff feels able to bring their whole self to work without editing or shrinking themselves to appear safer or less visible. Employment law provides the framework, but the culture built on top of it determines whether LGBTQ+ employees feel respected, protected and valued every day.
Next month we look at what the requires of you in terms of providing services to the LGBTQ+ community