Course description

Treating people fairly at work sounds simple, but everyday decisions about rotas, recruitment, jokes, adjustments and complaints can go wrong without anyone meaning them to. This course explains equality, diversity and inclusion in plain English for team leaders, managers and staff in the UK, so you understand what the Equality Act 2010 asks of you and can build a team where people feel they belong.

You learn the nine protected characteristics, the types of discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and the duty to make reasonable adjustments, then put them to work: fair recruitment, fair pay and progression, inclusive meetings and language, neurodiversity, menopause and caring in outline, and handling complaints fairly. Every legal point comes from GOV.UK, legislation.gov.uk, Acas and the EHRC, read on 3 November 2026, and the course is clear about which changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025 have started and which are only planned.

There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons, each with a worked example, common slips, questions people often ask and a short exercise to try, and each section ends with a short quiz. You follow Mekdes, a made-up new site manager at a garden centre in North Yorkshire, as she and her team leaders deal with a rota rule, a customer's comments, an adjustments request, a recruitment, a request for prayer time and a complaint about age. Every section has a practice pack with a worksheet, an answer key, a cheat sheet and worked examples, plus extras such as a protected characteristics summary sheet, an adjustments conversation guide and log template, a fair recruitment checklist, an inclusive meeting checklist, a language guide, an action plan template, practice scenarios with model answers, simple diagrams and a glossary. You finish with an inclusion review of a made-up library team, with a worked answer.

What you'll learn

• What equality, diversity and inclusion mean: equality, diversity, inclusion and equity in plain words, why fair treatment matters, the terms official bodies use, and your part whatever your job.
• The Equality Act 2010: who it protects, the nine protected characteristics, association and perception, when employers are responsible for what staff do, and Northern Ireland.
• Types of discrimination: direct and indirect discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, reasonable adjustments in outline, and positive action.
• Harassment, victimisation and speaking up: the legal meaning of harassment, banter, the duty to prevent sexual harassment, customers and other third parties, and victimisation.
• Disability and reasonable adjustments: the legal definition, practical adjustments, having an adjustments conversation, Access to Work in outline and keeping an adjustments log.
• The protected characteristics in plain terms: age, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, race, religion or belief, and disability.
• Fair recruitment, pay and progression: fair adverts, shortlisting, structured interviews, health questions before an offer, monitoring, equal pay and fair chances to progress.
• Everyday inclusion: unconscious bias and its limits, stereotypes and microaggressions, inclusive meetings, inclusive language and neurodiversity at work.
• Fair processes and the manager's role: menopause and caring in outline, complaints and grievances, time limits and early conciliation, policies, training records and team culture.
• Putting it into practice: reviewing your own team, writing an inclusion action plan, six practice scenarios, keeping up with the law, and a final project with a worked answer.

Who it's for

Team leaders, supervisors, managers and staff in any kind of UK workplace who want to understand equality law and treat colleagues fairly. You don't need any HR or legal knowledge.

What this course is, and isn't

This course gives general awareness of equality law and good practice at work. It isn't legal advice, and it says when to contact Acas, the Equality Advisory and Support Service, Citizens Advice or a qualified employment adviser. The Equality Act 2010 is the law in England, Scotland and Wales; Northern Ireland has its own equality laws. The law is changing in stages, so check the current Acas and GOV.UK pages before you rely on any date. Mekdes, Arkengarth Garden Centres and every other person and organisation in the course are made up.

What will I learn?

• Explain equality, diversity, inclusion and equity in plain words, and why fair treatment matters at work
• Name the nine protected characteristics and say how the Equality Act 2010 protects people at work, including by association and perception
• Tell direct and indirect discrimination, discrimination arising from disability and a failure to make adjustments apart
• Recognise harassment, banter that crosses the line and victimisation, and take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment
• Hold a reasonable adjustments conversation, agree and log adjustments, and know what Access to Work can help with
• Describe each protected characteristic in plain terms and treat people as whole individuals
• Run fair recruitment, from the advert to the offer, and check that pay and progression chances are shared fairly
• Run inclusive meetings, use inclusive language and support neurodivergent colleagues
• Handle complaints and grievances fairly, know the time limits and where to get advice, and keep policies and training records
• Review inclusion in your own team, write a short action plan and keep up with changes in the law

Frequently asked questions