Sometimes people who have mental health problems are treated unfavourably because of their mental health condition. This is called discrimination and, if you experience it, you may have a legal right to challenge it.

Quick facts

• The Equality Act 2010 is the law that gives you the right to challenge discrimination.

• To get protection under the Equality Act, you usually have to show that your mental health problem is a disability. 'Disability' has a special meaning under the Act.

• The Equality Act protects you from discrimination when you:

• are at work, applying for a job, made redundant or dismissed (covered in more detail in our legal pages on discrimination at work)
  
• buy, rent or live in property (covered in more detail in our legal pages on discrimination when buying, renting or living in property)
• use services, e.g. shops or insurance companies (covered in more detail in our legal pages on discrimination in everyday life)
  
• use public functions, e.g. policing or benefits (covered in more detail in our legal pages on discrimination in everyday life)
• are in education, e.g. at a college or university
• join some private clubs and associations.

• Public authorities have an additional duty to eliminate discrimination and promote equality of opportunity, called the public sector equality duty.

• There are short timescales for taking a legal claim if you believe that someone has discriminated against you. If you can, try to get legal advice before starting a claim.

Please note

• This guide covers disability discrimination from the point of view of a person with a mental health problem.
• This guide applies to England and Wales.
• This guide contains general legal information, not legal advice. We recommend you get advice from a specialist legal adviser or solicitor who will help you with your individual situation and needs. See Useful contacts for more information.
• The legal information in this guide does not apply to children unless specifically stated.

This information was published in July 2017. We will revise it in 2019.