Employment discrimination is considered when, within a company, there is unequal treatment of one or more employees for reasons that have nothing to do with their worth as a worker, but rather with their ethnicity, race, religion or other aspects of the personal sphere. In Spain, three out of five workers claim to have suffered discrimination at work, especially for reasons that have to do with age, physical appearance, gender and political inclination.
Labor discrimination is a very serious matter that directly violates article 14 of the Spanish Constitution, the one that guarantees equality between citizens. That is why Spanish law protects workers in any case of discrimination at work. For example, the Workers' Statute stipulates that discrimination based on sex, marital and family status, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic origin, social status, language, age, unfavorable state of health or disability, belief or religion, is prohibited. political or other opinion, and trade union membership. Failure to comply with this law can result in a prison sentence of between six months and two years or a fine of between 12 and 24 months, as indicated in article 314 of the Penal Code.
The types of employment discrimination are of a very varied nature. They can occur due to nationality or ethnic origin, gender, age, maternity, religion, ideology, sexual orientation, sexual identity, social status, illness, disability or, most commonly known, harassment. sexual. That is why it is extremely important that companies take measures to avoid discrimination.
Some examples of discrimination at work could be when someone is eliminated from a selection process because they belong to a specific race or ethnicity, when the opinions of a colleague are not taken seriously because they are women or when they are given the worst hours labor or a lower salary than someone due to sex or age.
There is also a type of discrimination called positive discrimination in which facilities are given to certain groups that, as a general rule, have been discriminated against. These policies encourage, for example, the hiring of people with disabilities through tax and economic benefits. This discrimination is not considered a crime and exists precisely to eliminate discrimination.
If a person receives discrimination at work, of any type, what they should do is immediately report it to the corresponding human resources department, but not before gathering the necessary evidence and witnesses to corroborate their version of the facts. It is even advisable to write down the dates and times of the moments in which the events occurred, so that everything is duly documented. This is so because accusing is not enough to prove that discrimination is taking place: it is necessary to support the accusation.
Now, in the event that the Human Resources department or superiors do nothing in this regard, you can always resort to judicial or public channels, since all workers are protected by the Law and discrimination can reach be considered a crime.
Making a complaint for employment discrimination will depend on the goal you want to achieve. If the person who receives discrimination wants to continue working in the same company, but ending the case of discrimination, it is best to file a complaint with the Labor and Social Security Inspectorate. This option does not involve any financial cost and does not have to end in court, but it does require that the employee identify themselves for the investigation to take place. Therefore, it is crucial that the complainant has collected evidence that a situation of harassment or discrimination exists. It is also possible to report anonymously, but in this case it is not considered a report but communication, and it is up to the Inspectorate whether or not to take action on the matter.
The second option is to go through the courts and sue the company in the Labor Court. For this, it is essential to be accompanied by a good labor lawyer who can guarantee that the case will end up being favorable for the worker. In this way, compensation can be obtained if the sentence is favorable to the victim.
