• What is the Equality Act?
• What areas of my life are protected under the Equality Act?
• Is my mental health problem covered?

What is the Equality Act?

The Equality Act 2010 is the law that protects you from discrimination and gives you the right to challenge it. You are protected by the Equality Act if you have certain protected characteristics, like a mental health problem.

What areas of my life are protected under the Equality Act?

The Equality Act protects you from discrimination when you:

• apply for work, are in a job and when you leave it (see our information on discrimination at work)
• use services such as shops and hospitals (see our information on discrimination in everyday life)
• deal with organisations carrying out public functions such as tax collection and crime investigation (see our information on discrimination in everyday life)
• are in education (including schools, colleges and universities)
• buy or rent property (see our information on discrimination and premises)
• join some private clubs and associations.

Organisations that are public authorities also have special legal obligations under the public sector equality duty.

Is my mental health problem covered?

You don’t have to have a particular mental health condition to get protection under the Equality Act. What you need to show is that your mental health problem is a disability.

Mental health problems that could be covered under the Equality Act would include:

• depression
• schizophrenia
• bipolar affective disorder
• and many other conditions (see our full list of types of mental health problems).

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This information was published in August 2019. We will revise it in 2021.