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If you own or run a business, it's important to ensure that your business is complying with equality and diversity legislation. How can you be sure that equality and diversity legislation is being followed in the workplace?

First, understand what types of discrimination can be present in the workplace:

- Age Age should not be a factor when considering an applicant for a job position, unless there is a reason why an employee's age would disallow them from working in that position.

- Religion & belief It is against the law for an employer to treat individuals differently according to their religion, belief or lack of. Employers must try and make accommodations for religion and beliefs.

For clarification purposes: Religious discrimination: Paying religious employees more than non-religious employees. Not religious discrimination: Requiring a butcher to handle pork, which is considered an unclean meat by the Jewish and Islam religions.

- Disability It is a requirement that employers try and accommodate disabled employees. Examples of this include making adjustments to the workplace to make it accessible to disabled employees, providing flexibility with working hours to allow for time off for treatment, and where appropriate allowing an employee to work from home.

For clarification purposes: Disability discrimination: Terminating an employee's contract because they've missed work due to hospitalisation related to their disability. Not disability discrimination: Declining a paraplegic applicant for a construction site job, as accommodating the applicant would require financial hardships to the employer.

- Gender Employees cannot be treated unfairly because of their gender, marital status, or because they have children.

- Race A person's national origins and skin colour should not determine how they are treated in the workplace. It is unlawful to discriminate against an employee or treat them unfairly because of their race.

- Sexual orientation No member of staff should feel discriminated against or harassed due to sexual orientation, whether they be straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or trans-gender.

Ensuring your company acts within these guidelines can go along way in saving your company expenses which can be incurred from lawsuits on the grounds of discrimination. Having to implement a policy to enable your company to fulfil employment law requirements should not be viewed negatively. Investing in the set up and monitoring of such a policy can provide a good return and also protect against accusations.