Preferential treatment (8)
I believe the answer is:
nepotism
'preferential treatment' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for nepotism that I've seen before include "Favouritism shown to relatives by those in power" , "The favouring of relatives or friends for jobs, etc" , "Job favouritism shown towards relatives" , "Favouritism shown to friends and family" , "Pro-family bias" .)