Private sector services

Discrimination is prohibited in business. The prohibition of discrimination applies to all personal and fixed property as well as the provision and availability of services that are offered to or accessible to the public. Some examples include trade, restaurant, accommodation, bank, insurance, construction, and transport services.

 

An entrepreneur is guilty of discrimination if he/she refuses to serve a customer according to generally acceptable conditions. For example, service cannot be refused on the basis of a customer’s skin colour, ethnic group or for any other personal reason.

 

Customers must receive equal treatment. Equal service does not include serving a customer in a humiliating way or in a manner that is otherwise offensive to the customer. The fact that a customer is not served normally because of his/her ethnic origin but is, for example, charged a higher price than other customers also constitutes prohibited discrimination.

 

A customer or potential customer who behaves in a disruptive manner in, for example, a restaurant can be refused service. However, the disruptive behaviour of a person is not grounds to refuse service to other members of the same ethnic group.

 

An employer may not instruct or order employees to refuse service to a person or group on the basis of ethnic origin. Even the provision of such instructions is discrimination, even if the instruction is not put into action.

 

The employer is also responsible for ensuring that service employees do not discriminate. For example, this applies to doormen working at restaurants, even if such services have been outsourced. The employer can be held responsible if he/she is aware that employees have discriminated against customers and does not intervene in such behaviour.

 

On the other hand, employees are responsible for the legality of their actions. Even if a supervisor instructs an employee to discriminate against a customer, this does not release the employee from responsibility if discrimination occurs.