HR Glossary

What is Protected Characteristics?

The nine personal attributes defined by the Equality Act 2010 that employers in the UK cannot use as grounds for discrimination: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

Why it matters in hiring

Protected Characteristics comes up whenever teams compare candidates, set policy or report on people data. Getting the definition right keeps decisions consistent, which is the same reason springhire scores every applicant against the same criteria rather than on impression.

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