Indirect Discrimination

An indirect act of discrimination is considered to have taken place when apparently neutral rules and regulations, criteria or practices have a negative impact on a group of people.

  • Refusal of renting accommodation to transfer beneficiaries in certain residential areas. Since migrants are disproportionately often dependent on social benefits, they are part of the disadvantaged group and are indirectly discriminated against by this business practice.
  • A factory bus doesn't stop in residential quarters that are predominantly inhabited by foreign employees for alleged security reasons.
  • In the process of filling a position as kitchen assistant in an aged-care centre all applicants are required to take a German test, although knowledge of German is not required in order to meet the requirements of the job. This rule naturally affects migrants for the most part.

Apparently neutral regulations that have a discriminatory impact affect also other groups:

  • Many banks have their standard services such as cash withdrawal, transfers and bank account statements as facilities of automatic tellers. That has negative effects on the ability of wheelchair-bound, blind and visually handicapped people to lead an independent life, as most automatic tellers are not equipped for people with disabilities. Aged people are similarly affected.
  • A social plan that does not consider the parental leave as a period of sevice in the calculation of the amount of severance payments. Women are particularly affected by this because they are the ones, who mostly take parental leave.
  • A company carries out a mandatory training for employees from Friday to Saturday (affected group: Jews who are not allowed to work on Saturday because of the Sabbath)