Equality and Human Rights Commission

If your employer is making decisions about:

• dismissing you, or
• making you redundant, or 
• your retirement because you are about to reach a particular age (when special procedures must be followed), or
• what they do after you have stopped working for them, such as when they give you a reference,
• equality law applies to what they are doing.

Equality law applies:

• whatever the size of the organisation
• whatever sector you work in
• whether your employer has one worker or ten or hundreds or thousands
• whether or not your employer uses any formal processes or forms to help them make decisions (although sometimes the law says your employer must follow a formal process and that some things have to be done in writing)

Pages in this section include:

Core guidance: Dismissal, redundancy, retirement and after you have left a job taken

Situations where equality law is different

Dismissal

Redundancy decisions

Avoiding discrimination against disabled people in redundancy situations

Managing retirement

After you have left a job

This guide also contains the following sections, which are similar in each guide in the series, and contain information you are likely to need to understand what we tell you about dismissal, redundancy, retirement or after you've stopped working for someone:

Information about when you are responsible for what other people do, such as your employees

Information about making reasonable adjustments to remove barriers for disabled people who work for you or apply for a job with you

Advice on what to do if someone says they’ve been discriminated against

A glossary of words to help you understand this guidance

Information on where to find more advice and support