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Religion or belief discrimination
In DLA Piper's case of the week, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) examined the dividing line between the innocent expression of an employee's religion at work and the inappropriate manifestation of religious beliefs in the workplace that justifies a misconduct charge.
This employment tribunal held that the belief in "democratic socialism" held by a dismissed jobcentre worker who has long been politically active with the Labour Party is a "philosophical belief" under the Equality Act 2010.
The Court of Appeal has found that the employment tribunal was correct to reject the indirect religion or belief discrimination claim brought by a Christian care worker who resigned after a dispute with her employer over her refusal to work on Sundays.
The Supreme Court has held that the owners of a bed and breakfast, whose religious beliefs include that sexual relations outside heterosexual marriage are sinful, could not justify their refusal to give civil partners a room with a double bed, in this important discrimination case on the conflict between sexual orientation laws and the right to manifest religious beliefs.
A "Wiccan" who claimed that she was mocked and later dismissed after switching her shifts to celebrate All Hallows' Eve has won a religion or belief discrimination claim, in what may be the first successful case of its kind in UK employment law.
James Buckle, Gerri Hurst, Joelle Parkinson, Chris McAvoy and Helen Samuel are associate solicitors at Addleshaw Goddard LLP. They round up the latest rulings.
This employment tribunal found that the Equality Act 2010 does not protect a claimant who believes that "the Jewish religion's professed belief in Jews being 'God's chosen people' is at odds with a meritocratic and multicultural society".
This employment tribunal considered whether or not it was discrimination for a manager with health and safety concerns to ask a Muslim interviewee about her unusually long religious dress.
In Heafield v Times Newspaper Ltd EAT/1305/12, the EAT held that there was no harassment based on religion or belief when an employee took offence at a colleague's comment using an expletive when referring to the Pope. In the context in which the remark was made, it could not reasonably be viewed as sufficiently offensive to amount to harassment.
HR and legal information and guidance relating to religion or belief discrimination.