Employment discrimination with regard to transgender people

Abstract

The focus of this term paper was to achieve a thorough understanding of the protections available to those transgender individuals within the sector of employment. This paper commences by defining a number of terms so as to introduce the subject as well as to help better understand the provisions of the law. Subsequently, Maltese legislative instruments as well as various European ones were analysed to delineate the difference in protections between the two, if any. Furthermore, the options of redress of the aggrieved parties are discussed with reference to the main equality body as well as the Industrial Tribunal. The third section of this project shall take a look at a unique survey carried out in 2014 by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights which is the most recent reference to statistical evidence with regards to gender identity discrimination in employment across all European Union Member States. This is followed by a review of the landmark judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which set a binding precedent as to how discrimination in the workplace with regards to transgender people shall be protected under the European Directives. In conclusion, the author shall offer an insight into what changes shall be coming in the future with regards to local legislation in this matter. A final remark is drawn up, focusing primarily on what can be improved in the laws governing the nondiscrimination of transgender individuals in employment.