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Förbud mot diskriminering i arbetslivet - Aktiva åtgärder och förbud mot diskriminering i samband med sexuell läggning

Käck, Caroline LU (2021) HARH13 20211
Department of Business Law
Abstract
It is forbidden for an employer to expose an employee, jobseeker, etc. to discrimination or retaliation in connection with the person's sexual orientation. This is reflected in both EU law and national law. Sexual orientation is defined in the Discrimination Act as "homosexual, bisexual or heterosexual orientation". The definition was developed in the previous law (1999: 133) on the prohibition of discrimination in working life on the grounds of sexual orientation. The definition was then transferred unchanged to the Discrimination Act (2008: 567). Several consultative bodies taking part in the preparatory work for the previous discrimination law criticized the fact that the protection offered by the law did not cover all sexual... (More)
It is forbidden for an employer to expose an employee, jobseeker, etc. to discrimination or retaliation in connection with the person's sexual orientation. This is reflected in both EU law and national law. Sexual orientation is defined in the Discrimination Act as "homosexual, bisexual or heterosexual orientation". The definition was developed in the previous law (1999: 133) on the prohibition of discrimination in working life on the grounds of sexual orientation. The definition was then transferred unchanged to the Discrimination Act (2008: 567). Several consultative bodies taking part in the preparatory work for the previous discrimination law criticized the fact that the protection offered by the law did not cover all sexual orientations. As society has developed, more and more people have felt comfortable exploring their sexual orientation and identifying with the orientation that suits them best. With this essay, I intend to explain how the prohibition of discrimination is expressed in national law, in the light of relevant EU law. I want to find out if the protection of the law only covers workers with a homosexual, bisexual or heterosexual orientation, or if the protection is more comprehensive. The essay also discusses the possibility and need to change the definition, or whether it has played its role and should be removed completely.

In addition to the prohibition against discrimination and retaliation, the employer also has other obligations under the Discrimination Act. One of these obligations is to work with active measures to prevent and counteract discrimination and in other ways promote equal rights and opportunities in the working life. Since 2017, work with active measures has been linked to all seven grounds of discrimination. As the employer can not ask his employees what sexual orientation they have (this would be discriminatory), the question is how the practical work should go. There are several grounds for contact between the work with active measures and the ordinary work with the working environment in accordance with the Work Environment Act (1977: 1160) and the Swedish Work Environment Authority's regulations. This work covers all employees and thus entails a more general principle of equal treatment. Against this background, I also intend to investigate how the employer should work with active measures linked to sexual orientation, and to what extent this work can be coordinated with the regular work with the working environment. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Det är förbjudet för en arbetsgivare att utsätta en arbetstagare, arbetssökande etc. för diskriminering eller repressalier i samband med personens sexuella läggning. Detta framkommer både i EU-rätten och i den nationella rätten. Sexuell läggning definieras i diskrimineringslagen som “homosexuell, bisexuell eller heterosexuell läggning”. Definitionen togs fram till den tidigare lagen (1999:133) om förbud mot diskriminering i arbetslivet på grund av sexuell läggning. Definitionen flyttades sedan oförändrad över till 2008 års diskrimineringslag (2008:567). Flera remissinstanser framförde kritik i förarbetena till tidigare diskrimineringslag mot att det skydd som lagen erbjöd, inte omfattade alla sexuella läggningar. I takt med att samhället... (More)
Det är förbjudet för en arbetsgivare att utsätta en arbetstagare, arbetssökande etc. för diskriminering eller repressalier i samband med personens sexuella läggning. Detta framkommer både i EU-rätten och i den nationella rätten. Sexuell läggning definieras i diskrimineringslagen som “homosexuell, bisexuell eller heterosexuell läggning”. Definitionen togs fram till den tidigare lagen (1999:133) om förbud mot diskriminering i arbetslivet på grund av sexuell läggning. Definitionen flyttades sedan oförändrad över till 2008 års diskrimineringslag (2008:567). Flera remissinstanser framförde kritik i förarbetena till tidigare diskrimineringslag mot att det skydd som lagen erbjöd, inte omfattade alla sexuella läggningar. I takt med att samhället utvecklats har allt fler personer känt sig bekväma med att utforska sin sexuella läggning och identifiera sig med den läggning som passar personerna bäst. Jag avser med denna uppsats att redogöra för hur diskrimineringsförbudet uttrycks i nationell rätt, mot bakgrund av relevant EU-rätt. Jag vill ta reda på om lagens skydd endast omfattar arbetstagare med homo-, bi- eller heterosexuell läggning, eller om skyddet är mer heltäckande. I uppsatsen diskuteras också möjligheten och behovet av att förändra definitionen, alternativt om den har spelat ut sin roll och bör tas bort helt.

Förutom förbudet mot diskriminering och repressalier har arbetsgivaren också andra skyldigheter enligt diskrimineringslagen. En av dessa skyldigheter är att arbeta med aktiva åtgärder för att förebygga och motverka diskriminering och på annat sätt främja lika rättigheter och möjligheter i arbetslivet. Arbetet med aktiva åtgärder är sedan 2017 kopplat till samtliga sju diskrimineringsgrunder. Då arbetsgivaren inte kan fråga sina anställda vilken sexuell läggning de har (detta vore diskriminerande), är frågan hur det praktiska arbetet ska gå till. Det finns flera beröringsgrunder mellan arbetet med aktiva åtgärder och det ordinarie arbetsmiljöarbetet enligt arbetsmiljölagen (1977:1160) och arbetsmiljöverkets föreskrifter. Det arbetet omfattar alla arbetstagare och innebär således en mer generell likabehandlingsprincip. Jag avser också, mot bakgrund av detta, att undersöka hur arbetsgivaren ska arbeta med aktiva åtgärder kopplat till sexuell läggning, och i vilken utsträckning detta arbete kan samordnas med det ordinarie arbetsmiljöarbetet. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Käck, Caroline LU
supervisor
organization
course
HARH13 20211
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Diskriminering, Diskrimineringslag (2008:567), Sexuell läggning, Aktiva åtgärder, Arbetsmiljö, Arbetslivet
language
Swedish
id
9050383
date added to LUP
2021-06-14 11:08:43
date last changed
2021-06-14 11:08:43
@misc{9050383,
  abstract     = {{It is forbidden for an employer to expose an employee, jobseeker, etc. to discrimination or retaliation in connection with the person's sexual orientation. This is reflected in both EU law and national law. Sexual orientation is defined in the Discrimination Act as "homosexual, bisexual or heterosexual orientation". The definition was developed in the previous law (1999: 133) on the prohibition of discrimination in working life on the grounds of sexual orientation. The definition was then transferred unchanged to the Discrimination Act (2008: 567). Several consultative bodies taking part in the preparatory work for the previous discrimination law criticized the fact that the protection offered by the law did not cover all sexual orientations. As society has developed, more and more people have felt comfortable exploring their sexual orientation and identifying with the orientation that suits them best. With this essay, I intend to explain how the prohibition of discrimination is expressed in national law, in the light of relevant EU law. I want to find out if the protection of the law only covers workers with a homosexual, bisexual or heterosexual orientation, or if the protection is more comprehensive. The essay also discusses the possibility and need to change the definition, or whether it has played its role and should be removed completely.

In addition to the prohibition against discrimination and retaliation, the employer also has other obligations under the Discrimination Act. One of these obligations is to work with active measures to prevent and counteract discrimination and in other ways promote equal rights and opportunities in the working life. Since 2017, work with active measures has been linked to all seven grounds of discrimination. As the employer can not ask his employees what sexual orientation they have (this would be discriminatory), the question is how the practical work should go. There are several grounds for contact between the work with active measures and the ordinary work with the working environment in accordance with the Work Environment Act (1977: 1160) and the Swedish Work Environment Authority's regulations. This work covers all employees and thus entails a more general principle of equal treatment. Against this background, I also intend to investigate how the employer should work with active measures linked to sexual orientation, and to what extent this work can be coordinated with the regular work with the working environment.}},
  author       = {{Käck, Caroline}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Förbud mot diskriminering i arbetslivet - Aktiva åtgärder och förbud mot diskriminering i samband med sexuell läggning}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}