Your rights 

Individuals in Northern Ireland are protected against discrimination on grounds of race, religious belief or political opinion, sex, sexual orientation, age (from 1 October 2006) or because of a disability. If you have been discriminated against on any of these grounds you may be able to bring a complaint to a tribunal or to a county court.

Knowing your rights may help you to sort out a problem before it goes too far. In the first instance you should raise the issue with a view to resolving the problem informally. But if you cannot do this, you may be able to use the law to bring an end to the discrimination and get some redress for the discriminatory treatment you have suffered.

The following sections give a general outline of the protection the law gives, how the Commission can help and how you can make a complaint. The information is not intended to be a fully comprehensive statement of the law and you should always seek advice at the earliest opportunity on your own particular circumstances if you think you have been discriminated against.

Your complaint may raise issues not within the remit of the Equality Commission in which case you may wish to seek alternative legal advice.

If you would like to contact one of our Discrimination Advice Officers for further guidance simply click here or ring our Enquiry line - 028 90 890 890.

If you think you have been discriminated against you should act quickly as there are time limits for lodging a claim with a tribunal or issuing court proceedings.