What constitutes 'discrimination'?

Discrimination is:

• Any practice that makes a distinction between individuals or groups so as to disadvantage some people and advantage others.
• Discrimination can be 'direct' or 'indirect'.
• 'Direct' discrimination is where a person is treated less favourably because of their race, sex, pregnancy, marital status, transgender, sexual preference or orientation, disability or long term illness, age, family or carer's responsibility, social origin, political belief or lack of political belief, religious belief or lack of religious belief THAN a person without that characteristic IN the same or similar circumstances.
• 'Indirect' discrimination results when a requirement, rule, policy or practice that appears to treat everyone the same, has a disproportionately unfair impact on particular people or groups of people when it is applied, and is unreasonable.