Employees are protected from discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003. The Regulations apply to recruitment, employment and vocational training. There is no qualifying period of employment before someone can bring a claim and no statutory cap to the level of compensation that can be awarded in such cases.
In 2007/2008, 709 religious discrimination claims were accepted by Employment Tribunals. Some claims have received a lot of publicity, such as Eweida v British Airways plc. Miss Eweida, a practising Christian, worked for British Airways as a member of its check-in staff. She claimed that she was the victim of religious discrimination because she was not allowed to wear a necklace with a silver crucifix at work if it was visible. Ms Eweida appealed against the Employment Tribunal’s finding that she had not been the victim of indirect discrimination. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) dismissed her claim because wearing a crucifix was not a mandatory requirement of her religion.
In another high-profile case (Ladele v London Borough of Islington), a registrar, who refused to carry out civil partnership ceremonies because to do so would be inconsistent with her Christian beliefs, lost her claims of direct discrimination and indirect discrimination. The EAT held that she had been treated in the same way as other employees and it cannot constitute direct discrimination to treat all employees in precisely the same way. Furthermore, whilst Islington Borough Council’s policy did place Miss Ladele at a particular disadvantage compared with employees who did not share her beliefs on same-sex relationships, she lost her claim of indirect discrimination because the Council’s action was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, which was to provide its services on a non-discriminatory basis.
It is clear that as well as having a distinct policy aimed at eradicating discrimination in the workplace that is based on someone’s religion or belief, all employment policies need to be sensitive to the requirements of an employee’s religious beliefs and take into account the potential for conflict that can exist between discrimination laws aimed at protecting different minority groups.
Employers are urged to carry out a thorough review of current policies and procedures and to make any necessary changes.
ACAS provide guidance on this subject.