This is where the claimant is treated badly not because of their disability but because of something that happens because of their disability. Unlike direct discrimination, there is no need for the claimant to compare themselves with anyone else. They just have to show that they were treated badly, and this treatment was linked to their disability.

Example:  a school refuses to allow a pupil with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to go on a class visit to the theatre, because that pupil has attention difficulties and may disrupt the performance.

But the treatment will not be unlawful if:

• the person treating them like this can show there is a good reason for this treatment, and it was reasonable in the circumstances;
• or they did not know or could not reasonably have known they had a disability.