There are specific anti-discrimination rights for those in the LGBTQ+ community in the Sex Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 1976. Under this legislation, if an employee is absent as a result of undergoing gender reassignment, an employer cannot treat this absence any less favourably than any employee absence as a result of sickness or injury. This means that the company sickness policy must apply and the employee must be entitled to statutory sick pay and any company sick pay which is available.   Further, employers cannot treat an employee any less favourably if they are absent due to gender reassignment.

As per the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003, an employee’s sexual orientation cannot be regarded as a disadvantage in the workplace.

In Northern Ireland employers are obliged to conduct monitoring of their employees. These monitoring forms should include all options relating to sexual orientation and gender, including non-binary.