The Human Rights Act 1993(external link) is aimed at giving all people equal opportunities and preventing unfair treatment on the basis of irrelevant personal characteristics.
The Human Rights Act covers discrimination on the grounds of:
sex
marital status
religious belief
ethical belief
colour
race
ethnic or national origins
disability
age
political opinion
employment status
family status
sexual orientation.
It's unlawful to discriminate someone on these grounds in the following areas of public life: