Consequences for those who break the law

The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud shall represent a real alternative to the courts. Processing of a complaint by the Ombud is free and usually takes a shorter time than it would take for a court to deal with the case.

When the Ombud concludes that there has been a breach in the law, the party is obliged to rectify their conduct in line with the Ombud’s statement. The Ombud’s statements are however not legally binding in the way a court judgement is. Even if the Ombud cannot instruct a party to change their conduct in line with the Ombud’s statements, most do decide to change their conduct in line with the statement.

The Ombud cannot impose any sanctions as a result of breaches of the law if the responsible party chooses not to take heed of the statement, but the case can be further appealed at the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Tribunal. The Ombud also encourages the party responsible for breaching the law to arrive at a voluntary solution with the complainant and to provide financial compensation.

The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Tribunal cannot impose the sanctions or rectification, cessation or daily penalties. If the Ombud’s statement is upheld by the tribunal, the tribunal can issue an order to the effect that the employer must raise your wages or change a discriminatory practice, for instance. The tribunal can in some cases impose daily penalties on a party if the responsible party does not make amendments in accordance with the tribunals’ decision.

An order to pay compensation for breach of the prohibition on discrimination can only be imposed by the ordinary courts.