Uppsala Antidiscrimination Office

A simplified description of the Discrimination Act’s definition of discrimination is when a person is treated disfavourably or when a person’s dignity is violated. The disfavourable treatment or the violation of the person’s dignity must have a connection to one of the seven grounds of discrimination.

Sometimes one can feel that one has been treated unfairly but it is not necessarily discrimination according to the law. The discrimination law requires among other things that it is related to one of the seven grounds of discrimination.

The law protects individuals (not organizations or companies). The prohibition of discrimination means for example that employers can’t discriminate their employees, or that schools can’t discriminate their students, or that shopkeepers can’t discriminate customers.

The time limit to report and address a case of discrimination in court is two years from when it happened, but in the working sphere the limitations are much shorter, sometimes as short as two weeks. If you experience discrimination at your workplace you need to turn to your union quickly if you are a member of the union.

For more information about discrimination, please visit the Equality Ombudsman, DO or contact us at ADU.