What is Religion or Belief Discrimination?
The law protects employees from discrimination based on their religion or beliefs. Here, the law divides into two general categories, religion/religious belief, and philosophical belief
What counts as a religion?
The law generally accepts that a religion must have a clear system of beliefs. Denomination and sects are also covered as long as they are structured. Both employees without a specific faith and those who belong to established religions are protected by the law. What constitutes a religion or religious belief may vary from person to person and between groups. All religions enjoy equal protection.
What counts as a philosophical belief?
Generally, for a philosophical belief to qualify as such in the eyes of the law, it must have the following characteristics:
- Honestly held
- More than merely an opinion based on current news
- Pertains to a significant or substantial aspect of human life or behaviour
- Clear, logical, serious, significant
- Worthy of respect in a democratic society and does not conflict with fundamental human rights
Some examples would include humanism, atheism and agnosticism.
Political beliefs form a more uncertain topic. Supporting a political party does not generally qualify as holding a philosophical belief under the Equality Act. However, the Employment Rights Act protects you from dismissal based solely on or mainly on grounds of your political opinions.
What religion and belief discrimination may look like:-
- Direct Discrimination
- Indirect Discrimination
- Harassment
- Victimization
Direct Discrimination
This can manifest where you are treated less favourably because of your religion (or someone you are associated with) or beliefs, (or lack thereof), regardless of whether their perception is correct or not. Common examples may include a decision not to employ or to dismiss someone, offer poorer terms and conditions of employment, or deny contractual benefits because of religion or beliefs. The law permits discrimination based on religion or belief in a select few circumstances where a job requires an employee of a specific religion or belief.
Indirect Discrimination
To file a claim under this you must be able to prove that the policy leading to unfair treatment represents a disproportionate and unnecessary way of your employer achieving an intended outcome, such as a wholly Christian workforce – this can be extremely difficult and not taken without legal advice.
Harassment
The law defines harassment as “unwanted conduct” which, in this case, must be related to religion or belief. For an act to qualify as harassment, it must also have the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual. Harassment most typically takes the form of bullying, nicknames, threats, jokes, gossip, inappropriate questions, insults or exclusion. Notably, you can also raise a complaint where you witness harassment and it has a negative impact on you or your working environment.
Victimization
Victimisation is when an employee is singled out for cruel and/or unjust treatment because they;-
- Made an allegation of discrimination;
- Supported a complaint of discrimination;
- Gave evidence relating to a complaint of discrimination;
- Raised a concern over equality or discrimination; and/or
- Did anything else for the Equality Act, including bringing an employment tribunal claim.
Notably, victimization can impact people who stood up for their colleagues and who suffered a detriment as a result, such as being labelled a troublemaker, being left out, or being denied training or promotion. As long as you bring an allegation for victimization in good faith, you will not face any negative consequences if your evidence turns out to be inaccurate or incomplete.
What to do if you believe you are being discriminated against due to your religion or beliefs
You should try to resolve the issue informally by talking to your manager. If that does not lead to progress, you should raise a formal complaint with your employer’s HR department. As part of this, it may be helpful to familiarise yourself with your employer’s grievance policy and procedure, which your manager or HR department should pass on to you if you ask. At this stage, you may want to consider consulting a lawyer to support the complaint. Employers tend to be significantly more responsive when they perceive that the complainant “has done their research” and taken steps to obtain professional legal advice.
If a formal internal complaint fails to resolve the matter, you can bring a claim for religion and belief discrimination in an Employment Tribunal. However, discrimination claims are often difficult to prove, as employers typically do not leave explicit evidence. You should also be conscious of the strict time constraints: discrimination claims must be brought to an Employment Tribunal within three months of the alleged discriminatory act.
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