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Religion or belief discrimination
In Bougnaoui and another v Micropole SA [2017] IRLR 447 ECJ, the ECJ held that an employer in France could not use the reluctance of a customer to deal with any worker wearing an Islamic headscarf to defend the dismissal of a Muslim worker because she wore the hijab.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that there was no religious discrimination when a Christian prison employee faced disciplinary action for quoting a passage from the bible and "speaking about homosexuality as a sin" during a chapel service.
The Supreme Court has held that an incremental pay structure that put Muslim chaplains in the prison service at a disadvantage compared to their Christian colleagues was indirectly discriminatory, but was justified.
A model policy on religious holidays.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld an employment tribunal decision that the claimant's assertion that his beliefs required him to take a block of five weeks' leave to attend religious festivals was not genuine.
In Harron v Chief Constable of Dorset Police [2016] IRLR 481 EAT, the EAT allowed the employee's appeal against the ruling that his passionate belief in efficient use of public money did not constitute a "philosophical belief", on the basis that it was unclear if the tribunal had properly applied the necessary criteria. The issue was remitted to the tribunal for fresh consideration.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ordered the employment tribunal to reconsider whether or not a claimant's philosophical belief in the "proper and efficient use of public money in the public sector" is protected under the Equality Act 2010. Kate Hodgkiss explains the EAT's decision.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that the dismissal of a Christian employee because of her refusal to end her marriage with a convicted sex offender was indirect religious discrimination.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that an employee was subjected to disciplinary proceedings because of her own inappropriate actions, and not because she was manifesting her Christian beliefs.
The existence of a non-discriminatory reason for Muslim prison chaplains being paid less than their Christian counterparts has defeated a discrimination claim. Matthew Leon and Kate Hodgkiss explain a Court of Appeal ruling that has stirred up the law on indirect discrimination.
HR and legal information and guidance relating to religion or belief discrimination.