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7/7/26 Jail time and unlimited fines planned under conversion practices ban

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7/7/26 Jail time and unlimited fines planned under conversion practices ban

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Jail time and unlimited fines planned under conversion practices ban

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The government says a new Bill will protect LGBT people from “abusive acts” to change who they are.

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24/2/26 Is there really a 'quiet revival' of religion among Gen Z?

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24/2/26 Is there really a 'quiet revival' of religion among Gen Z?

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Is there really a ‘quiet revival’ of religion among Gen Z?

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A fierce debate is taking place about whether there really has been a revival in Christianity.

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24/2/26 Record funding to protect faith communities

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24/2/26 Record funding to protect faith communities

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Record funding to protect faith communities

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Government announces a record £73.4 million in funding in 2026 to 2027 for protective security at Jewish, Muslim, and other faith sites.

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9/12/25 Faith and Reform: is the religious right on the rise in UK politics?

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9/12/25 Faith and Reform: is the religious right on the rise in UK politics?

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Faith and Reform: is the religious right on the rise in UK politics?

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Powerful Christian figures are emerging in Britain but there are important differences from the US, where evangelicals have fuelled Trump

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7/10/25 Antisemitic hatred is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again’

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7/10/25 Antisemitic hatred is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again’

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‘Antisemitic hatred is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again’ - Religion Media Centre

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Condemnation of terrorist attack on Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester, an assault ‘on the very values and soul of our city’

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22/8/25 International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief: UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief's statement

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22/8/25 International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief: UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief's statement

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International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief: UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief’s statement | Foreign,Commonwealth and Development Office

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The UK’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief gave a statement to mark International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief.

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15/7/25 UK approach to freedom of religion or belief: Lord Collins' speech, July 2025

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15/7/25 UK approach to freedom of religion or belief: Lord Collins' speech, July 2025

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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

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UK approach to freedom of religion or belief: Lord Collins’ speech, July 2025

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Minister responsible for human rights, Lord Collins of Highbury, gave a speech at an event outlining the UK’s approach to freedom of religion or belief.

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Paul KirbyEurope digital editorIone WellsSouth America correspondent, reporting from Chiclayo, Peru

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Who is Robert Prevost, the new Pope Leo XIV and first American pope?

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Pope Leo XIV has supported his predecessor and focus will turn on whether he continues Church reforms.

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A guide to Pope Francis’s funeral: All you need to know

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A guide to Pope Francis’s funeral: All you need to know

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25/04/25 Death of the Pope. How to watch the funeral on Saturday 26th April

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25/04/25 Death of the Pope. How to watch the funeral on Saturday 26th April

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Pope Francis tributes live: Watch as thousands continue to queue to see Pope lying in state

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Mourners are paying their respects to the Pope for the final day ahead of the funeral on Saturday.

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14/4/25 New BBC film, Ride or Die, explores how faith, grief and the risk of fatality push a diverse cast of racers to the limit

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14/4/25 New BBC film, Ride or Die, explores how faith, grief and the risk of fatality push a diverse cast of racers to the limit

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New BBC film, Ride or Die, explores how faith, grief and the risk of fatality push a diverse cast of racers to the limit

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For some motorcycle road racers, religious faith plays an important, but often hidden, role in their lives

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14/4/25 State department staff told to report colleagues for ‘anti-Christian bias’

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14/4/25 State department staff told to report colleagues for ‘anti-Christian bias’

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State department staff told to report colleagues for ‘anti-Christian bias’

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Department seeks instances of bias, with emphasis on Christianity, that may have occurred under Biden

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Religion news 25 February 2025 - Religion Media Centre

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British Muslim Network officially launched today; Jewish organisations alarmed at German election result; Conclave cast wish the Pope well;‘ Cathedral of the Potteries’ to become educational centre

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28/1/25 Religious persecution and the World Watch List 2024

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28/1/25 Religious persecution and the World Watch List 2024

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Taking place on the third Sunday in January each year, World Religion Day 2025 takes place on January 19. This globally celebrated day encourages you to take the time to learn about other religions, in the hope that it will allow people to see that religion can bring us together in a variety of different ways.

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10/12/24 Employment tribunal case ruling published on belief discrimination

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10/12/24 Employment tribunal case ruling published on belief discrimination

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Employment tribunal case ruling published on belief discrimination

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Ruling published in employment tribunal case of Thomas v Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

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10/12/24 How can we support religion and belief at work?

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10/12/24 How can we support religion and belief at work?

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Diversity and Inclusion Leaders – Accelerating workplace inclusion

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How can we support religion and belief at work? - Diversity and Inclusion Leaders – Accelerating workplace inclusion

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Independent news, reports and events for senior diversity, inclusion, HR, talent and recruitment professionals.

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The Religion Media Centre is an independent, impartial body helping journalists and media professionals cover world religions and beliefs

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A Christian actress who lost an appeal against a 2021 employment tribunal decision, which found she had not been discriminated against in relation to her religion, is now seeking permission to take her case to the Court of Appeal.
This month the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) upheld a previous tribunal decision against Seyi Omooba and its ruling for her to pay legal costs.

Omooba was given the lead role of Celie in the musical The Color Purple, a production of Alice Walker's classic novel at Leicester's Curve Theatre in 2019. She accepted the lead role after originally auditioning for the character of Nettie.

But after the cast was revealed, Aaron Lee Lambert, who starred in Hamilton in the West End, posted a screenshot of a 2014 Facebook post in which Omooba said: "I do not believe homosexuality is right, though the law of this land has made it legal doesn't mean it's right". In his post, Lambert asked if she stood by the post given that Celie has a lesbian relationship in the story.

A social media backlash called for Omooba to be removed from the cast. Her agent, Global Artists, told her that unless she retracted the comments and publicly apologised, she would be unable to continue under their management. She refused to do so.

Curve terminated her contract. Its statement read: "The play and production are seeking to promote freedom and independence and to challenge views, including the view that homosexuality is a sin." Later, her agent also terminated her contract.

Shortly before the original tribunal hearing, having only then read the script, the claimant volunteered she would never in fact have played the part of Celie, and would have resigned from the role in due course.

She continued with her claims of discrimination against both the theatre and her agency, as well as claims of harassment and breach of contract but these were all dismissed and the judge ordered Omooba, who is supported by the Christian Legal Centre, to pay legal costs.

Omooba appealed those decisions. The Curve Theatre and Global Artists cross-appealed the tribunal's finding that the claimant had suffered detrimental treatment.

Mrs Justice Eady, president of the EAT, found it was open to the tribunal to find that the claimant had suffered detrimental treatment: "It had not fallen into the error of confusing reason and motive but had permissibly found that, whilst the claimant's belief formed part of the context, it was not a reason for either her dismissal by the theatre or the termination of her agency contract."

The employment tribunal had found that the reason that Curve Theatre withdrew the part from her was not Omooba's religious beliefs or her expression of them, but to protect the commercial viability of the production.

Its judgment in Omooba v Michael Garret Associates (Global Artists) and Leicester Theatre Trust said: "... while the situation would not have arisen but for the expression of her belief, it was the effect of the adverse publicity from its retweet, without modification or explanation, on the cohesion of the cast, the audience's reception, the reputation of the producers and 'the good standing and commercial success' of the production, that were the reasons why she was dismissed."

It added that it was important that Omooba was not perceived by the audience and company as hostile to lesbians. The decision to terminate was made to deal with a dysfunctional situation that arose from the social media backlash. "The religious belief itself was not the reason why the theatre decided this. It was the commercial and artistic reality of the cluster of factors that it would not succeed," it said.

Similarly, on the decision of Omooba's agent to stop representing her the tribunal found he terminated the contract because he thought a continued association would damage his business.

"The contract was not terminated because of her religious belief, but because in his mind the publicity storm about her part in The Color Purple threatened the agency's survival," said the tribunal judgment.

Justice Eady at the EAT agreed: "Distinctions between context and reason are fact-sensitive and can require nuanced judgements by the first instance tribunal... This is not a case where the ET [employment tribunal] shirked that task; having carried out a detailed evaluation of the evidence, it reached permissible conclusions as to the operative reasons for each of the decisions in issue, which were not the claimant's beliefs.

"By her first two grounds of appeal, the claimant is seeking to go behind that evaluation by the first instance tribunal of fact; that does not provide a proper basis of challenge and I duly dismiss these grounds of appeal."

All other grounds were dismissed by the EAT, including the tribunal's decision to award costs.

Justice Eady said: "In making a costs award against the claimant, the ET had been entitled to reach the conclusion that her claims either had no reasonable prospect of success from the outset, or that they had no reasonable prospect once the claimant realised that she would never in fact have played the role of Celie, or that the conduct of the claims had been unreasonable; as such it had permissibly found the threshold for a costs award was met."

Implications

Writing in a blogpost, Darren Newman, employment law trainer and consultant, said he worried about the implications of this case as it suggests that an employer can legitimately cave in to a social media campaign and dismiss an employee with controversial views - even if the Equality Act protects them.

"If an employer can persuade a tribunal that it genuinely dismissed an employee because of external pressure then it seems that that will be enough," he said. "Even if the pressure was directly based on the protected characteristic, the dismissal will not amount to discrimination.

"The EAT's reasoning on this issue seems logical but I am left feeling rather uncomfortable with it. The facts of the case make it easy to feel that Ms Omooba's claims lack merit - if only she had read the script before the audition this whole situation could have been avoided! But can we really allow an employer to rely on a 'social media storm' as a reason for dismissal if it's clear that the storm is entirely based on an employee's protected characteristic?"

Newman drew comparisons with the Higgs v Farmor's School case, which is going to the Court of Appeal, and asked what would have happened had the theatre company seen Omooba's Facebook post before others had seen it and withdrew the part because it foresaw the social media storm that it would cause.

Court of Appeal

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: "This is an open and shut case of discrimination against the Christian faith if there ever was one. Seyi was racially abused, received death threats and was hounded out of her career for a polite and temperate expression of what the Bible says about marriage. An unjust ruling which defends her sacking cannot stand and we will be taking this to the Court of Appeal."

Omooba said: "I have long forgiven all those who have sought to ruin my theatre career, but the theatre world needs to be told, loud and clear, that cancelling people for their Christian beliefs is illegal and wrong. From the outset, the theatre was offering to pay me off for terminating my acting contract, and I would not take that money. This case is about the freedom of Christians to hold our beliefs in the modern world, and about the truth of what has happened to me."
This article was updated following news that Omooba would seek a hearing at the Court of Appeal.
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Actress to take religious discrimination claim to Court of Appeal

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Christian actress Seyi Omooba to take case to Court of Appeal following EAT decision that she had not been religiously discriminated against.

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It was in year nine when Hanzla started praying in the playground during lunchtime at his secondary school in Birmingham, despite restrictions from his teachers.

"I'd find anywhere in the playground and get my friends to kind of make a circle around me - those friends were Muslims and non-Muslims - so the teachers would not find out," he said. "A lot of the time it used to be raining and sometimes even snowing and the weather was cold."

Hanzla, now a 20-year-old university student, said he began praying at the school the year before in the classroom of a Muslim teacher. However, once other members of staff became aware, Hanzla said this was later "banned", leading him to take his prayer to the playground.

"Normally we tried to find a quiet corner on the playground so in between buildings or in the corner of the playground," he said. "My prayer mat was getting soaked and muddy because obviously it would have been raining that day so I used to come home and say: look it's all drenched. It was, almost, a very stressful situation because every lunch break I'd have to try [to] find a place to pray when I would not get caught."

In April, a Muslim student lost her legal challenge against the Michaela community school in north-west London after its founder, thought to be Britain's strictest headteacher, introduced a prayer ban.

Katharine Birbalsingh claims that independent prayers in and around the school undermine inclusion and social cohesion. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

The student argued the ban was discriminatory but the head, Katharine Birbalsingh, claimed the prayers undermined social cohesion and inclusion, contributing to "segregation between religious groups and intimidation within the group of Muslim pupils", the court was told.

Mr Justice Linden, in his 83-page written judgment for the high court, ruled in favour of Birbalsingh and said the prayer ban was a "proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aims" of the school, adding: "The claimant at the very least impliedly accepted, when she enrolled at the school, that she would be subject to restrictions on her ability to manifest her religion."

For Hanzla, who was told he could face detention due to his prayer rituals at school, the recent legal challenge was a potent reminder of his own experience. "I was quite shocked," he said. "I would assume that the girl should have won the case."

There is no legal requirement for schools in the UK to allow pupils time or a place to pray, with some schools making provisions for this and others not.

Prayers are one of the five pillars of Islam and Muslims are required to perform the prayers at specific times during the day. For most Muslim pupils, afternoon prayers coincide with school hours during the winter months.

Muddathir Quraishi, an 18-year-old sixth form student at the Altrincham grammar school for boys, explained how his school's Islamic society has facilitated space for Muslim students to participate in a 15-minute prayer at lunchtime.

"As Muslims it's a spiritual experience, praying within congregation with people that I know, and when you pray it makes you feel better," he said. "It's made me feel more included in my school, the Islamic society is not only a society in my eyes. I see it more as a community."

Quraishi and his mother, Saima Alvi, who is the vice-chair of the British Muslim Heritage Centre in Manchester, said the school's policy around prayer had greatly influenced his decision to join the school.

"The main two important aspects of my life are my religion and my academics," Quraishi said. "That's what I was focusing on especially when joining the secondary school."

Responding to the ruling in thehigh court, Saima said: "British values, two of them are tolerance and mutual respect. Where's the tolerance and mutual respect when you're not allowing people to perform a mandatory duty that's in their lunchtime, that's not affecting anybody? I just can't understand any logic in that."

Muddathir Quraishi, 18, a student at Altrincham grammar school for boys. Photograph: Supplied

Birbalsingh wrote the Michaela community school expects "all religions and all races to make the necessary sacrifices to enable our school to thrive. The vast majority do so without complaint", in a statement released after the ruling.

The founder added half of the school's intake is Muslim and emphasised: "If our families did not like the school, they would not repeatedly choose to send their children to Michaela."

Bushra Nasir CBE, one of Britain's first female Muslim headteachers, said she had introduced a multi-faith prayer room at the Plashet secondary school for girls in Newham, east London, in 1993, which was well received by staff, parents and pupils.

"It came from the student council, they wanted a prayer room. We spoke to staff, we found a very nice area in the school that was quite near washing facilities ... and it was very well used."

Nasir said the prayer room provided children with a "sense of belonging", adding: "You don't have to leave your identity at the door. You're bringing your whole self."

Reacting to the ruling at the Michaela school, Nasir said: "I was really saddened, I just felt that the progress that schools have made over the years to be inclusive, to meet the needs of students from all faiths and none, actually has been undermined by this."

The student who brought forward the legal challenge said in a statement that she was "disappointed" by the outcome at the high court, adding: "As is set out in the judgment, I do not agree that it would be too hard for the school to accommodate pupils who wished to pray in the lunch break."

Birbalsingh, however, said the ruling was a "victory for all schools", adding any educational institution "should be free to do what is right for the pupils it serves".

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'Soaked and muddy': British Muslims tell their stories of prayer at school

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Students speak out after a pupil lost her legal challenge against a top London school after it brought in a ban to promote social cohesion

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About one third of British mosques have no space for women to pray. Now a network of women has come together to challenge the status quo.

The women have produced a report detailing statistics about the provision for female worshippers in British mosques and a survey collecting examples of inequality and discrimination, which they hope will be a catalyst for action to change.

They launched it at a high-powered meeting in parliament, with Muslim female professionals from all walks of life and contributions from Baroness Warsi and an Anglican bishop.

The report was produced by the Open My Mosque campaign, which is part of Together We Thrive network founded by Julie Siddiqi.

At the meeting that launched the report, Ms Siddiqi said the movement began when a group got together and "realised that the issue of bring shouted at, or belittled, or turned away from mosques was happening to lots of women".

It was common, she said, that women did not feel included or valued on mosque management boards. Women might have to travel two to three times the distance of men to find a dedicated prayer space or a mosque, which made it difficult to observe the requirement to pray five times a day.

"These attitudes leak into other parts of our communities and not just mosques," she said, and "this is not the equality our religion teaches", reminding the audience that men and women were welcomed together in the time of the Prophet Muhammad and women were teachers in mosques.

Ms Siddiqi realised that in this time of heightened tension, people felt nervous about raising the issue, but she said: "We're not going to stay quiet over something so important and fundamental as this."

The report, My British Mosque, acknowledges that conversations about inclusion are kept within the community, over fears that they would feed into Islamophobic tropes that Islam was anti-woman.

But it outlines the theological and historical imperative for women to be treated equally and be included fully. The arguments are well rehearsed among UK and European scholars.

The report was written by Anita Neyyar, a social psychologist and research consultant, and co-founder of the campaign.

At the launch, Ms Neyyar outlined a body of research on women's inclusion in mosques, theological interpretations that cause discrimination, women's experience of faith, and the needs that women have identified as being lacking in mosques.

The purpose of My British Mosque was to gather evidence and statistics on the experiences of British Muslim women to deepen understanding of the issues and point to practical solutions for change. It includes evidence from an online survey of 322 respondents from 19 regions in Britain, in addition to policy-makers within Muslim organisations.

It found that 96 per cent of those surveyed did not believe there was any basis in Islamic law to stop women from attending the mosque to pray or to be excluded from management boards.

It also found that 59 per cent had female friends or family unfairly or negatively treated in a mosque.

Examples of discrimination were included in the respondents' own words:

'The women's area tends to be in some rubbish corner the men don't want'

"There were unclean poor wudhu [washing] facilities, insufficient places to actually pray. Women's area tends to be in some rubbish corner the men don't want. Being squashed in a basement made me very uncomfortable like I'm a secondary citizen."

"When I've tried to visit a mosque, you're told you can only come in on one day at a set time and it's always a space that's not set up for prayer or reflection. If you're a man you're welcome whenever you want to go."

On intimidation: "It has happened to me numerous times. It includes being turned away at the door, rudely and told 'no place for women'. No signposts showing where I was supposed to go, so I felt unwelcome and lost in a place that I should feel at home in."

At the launch, two young women told of being violently blocked from entering a mosque in London, manhandled and kicked. At the time, some people accused them of being the problem. Neither the police nor the Charity Commission took up their case, they said.

The report explains that most mosques have been set up by people moving to the UK from the Indian sub-continent, maintaining a way of life that can sit at odds with the needs of British-born Muslims.

It says: "Worshippers tend to locate the problem with power-hungry mosque boards, dominated by a small group of men with 'back home' mentalities, unwilling to adapt to contemporary needs." However, it says it is important to address the needs of worshippers both under Islamic law and as British citizens.

Places of worship are a grey area for equalities legislation and in one test case brought by lawyers, the Charity Commission said it was unable to act, which made redress and challenge a struggle.

The Open My Mosque campaign hopes the report will act as a tool for change, creating conversations with statutory and non-statutory bodies, governance boards and umbrella bodies.

It has come up with five needs that worshippers would like to be met:

85 per cent want a prayer space for both men and women

73 per cent want Jummah prayer for both men and women

73 per cent want a welcoming presence from staff and worshippers

70 per cent want more inclusion for women on the governance board

70 per cent want more women on the management board

Ms Siddiqi said the issue had been known about for some time and the Muslim Council of Britain and the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board have highlighted the need for better inclusion of women.

Faith Associates - a consultancy set up to meet the needs of ethnic minority faith-based communities - gives a Beacon Award for gold standard mosques and includes "the best women's service", which was won last year by Easton Jamia Masjid in Bristol. But, the launch meeting heard, more needed to be done.

The report outlines good practice at mosques. This includes: women being offered a consistently accessible prayer space; speaking to women with respect; women being integral to the running of the mosque; where a social hub is created for the wider community; holding women-specific services; and having women in leadership roles.

But respondents said fewer than 20 per cent of mosques in their area made them feel welcome.

Speaking at the launch, Baroness Warsi advised that, from an equalities and human rights perspective, any change would have to be an "all-faiths approach", with people from other faiths working alongside the campaign.

She said it was important to make an argument to the mosques that would be impossible for them to come back on. Organisations should in principle adopt the position that all mosques should be open to women and if they were not, they should be on a journey to make it happen.

Rosemarie Mallett, the Anglican Bishop of Croydon, joined the meeting by invitation and said that although she was from a different faith tradition, there were similarities. She reflected: "In Christianity and Islam, we are all made in the image of God and all should be able to worship".

Even as a bishop, there were some spaces in the Church of England where she was not welcome as a woman, she said. Listening to contributions at the meeting, the bishop recognised that women who had a faith expected that they had a right to be in the mosque and to worship in that space. From what she had heard, the status quo was not good enough and needed to change: "This is not a faith issue, it's a power issue".

The report said change was being held up by an absence of procedure, loopholes in legislation and fear to challenge. There was a need for set standards for all mosques as a means of making them accountable. To achieve this, it said group effort was needed between worshippers, Islamic organisations, policy-makers and the mosques themselves.

The meeting ended with this formidable collection of high-powered women discussing grassroots action to take forward the campaign.

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Campaign launched to open British mosques to women - Religion Media Centre

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"My British Mosque" report says around one third of British mosques have no space for women to pray and now a grass roots campaign has formed to challenge the status quo.

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CST has brought together many educational videos and other content about antisemitism and other related topics that we have either created, assisted with or contributed to, as well as others that we believe are interesting and useful.

While every effort is made by CST to ensure that accurate information is used, CST makes no representation about the content and suitability of this information for any purpose. The information contained is provided on an 'as is' basis. The material and information contained is for general information purposes only, with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness.

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CST has created, assisted or contributed to many educational videos and other content about antisemitism and other related topics.

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Report in Anti-Muslim Hate or Islamophobia

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Tell MAMA supports victims of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate. You can report in anti-Muslim hate to Tell MAMA & we will provide casework, one to one, emotional support & legal referrals.

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Four cases of religious discrimination and their effect on business

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Four cases of religious discrimination and their effect on business

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Four cases of religious discrimination and their effect on business

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Amanda Jones and Alan Delaney look at the decisions in four recent cases of religious discrimination and discuss their potential effects.Judgment in the

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Summary

How Chris Hadrill successfully represented a client in his claim for religious belief discrimination in the Employment Tribunal on a 'no win no fee' basis and secured a settlement of £60,000 at the court door.

Under the Equality Act 2010, employees can make a claim to the Employment Tribual if they believe that they have been discriminated against, harassed or victimized because of their race (or any other 'protected characteristic'). Potential claims include the following:

Section 13 Equality Act 2010 - to make a claim to the Employment Tribunal for direct religious belief discrimination if they believe that they have been treated less favourably because of their religious beliefs ("direct religious belief discrimination")

Section 19 Equality Act 2010 - to make a claim to the Employment Tribunal for indirect religious belief discrimination if they believe that they have been discriminated against by a practice, criterion or provision of their employer's ("indirect religious belief discrimination")

Section 26(1) Equality Act 2010 - to make a claim to the Employment Tribunal for religious belief-related harassment if they believe that they have been subjected to unwanted conduct related to their (or another person's) religious beliefs which has the purpose or effect of creating a hostile work environment or humiliating them

Section 27 Equality Act 2010 - to make a claim to the Employment Tribunal for victimization if they believe that they have been subjected to a detriment because they have, for example, threatened to make a claim for religious belief discrimination to the Employment Tribunal

Situation

MS (not his real initials), who is Sikh and wears a turban, started work at a large construction company in June 2014. On his induction day he explained to HR that he wore a turban, that he could not therefore wear a safety helmet, and that he believed that he was exempted from wearing a safety helmet under UK legislation. On 9 July 2014 he was summoned to a meeting with his line manager and told that he was going to be dismissed for a number of reasons, including the fact that he "refused" to wear a safety helmet.

As a result of his dismissal MS suffered depression and his relationships with his family suffered considerably. He was unable to get a job after he was dismissed and suffered a considerable loss of earnings as a result.

What we did

Chris Hadrill, a specialist employment solicitor at Redmans, represented MS on a 'no win no fee' basis in his Employment Tribunal claim against his former employer, including claims for compensation for loss of earnings, injury to feelings, aggravated damages, and personal injury. Chris dealt with the procedure of the claim and represented MS at the full Employment Tribunal hearing.

The result

MS's former employer made a number of offers of settlement as the case proceeded, including a £10,000 offer in early March, a £15,000 offer in early May, a £25,000 offer the week before the hearing was due to commence, and then a £50,000 offer on the day of the Employment Tribunal hearing. Chris told the former employer at each stage that his client was unwilling to settle the claim for less than £60,000.

On the morning of the start of the Employment Tribunal hearing MS' former employer made an offer of £60,000 in full and final settlement, with Chris drafting the terms of the settlement agreement.

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Case study: Redmans wins settlement of £60,000 for client in religious belief discrimination case

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Summary How Chris Hadrill successfully represented a client in his claim for religious belief discrimination in the Employment Tribunal on a 'no win no fee' basis and secured a settlement of £60,000 at the court door. Under the Equality Act 2010, employees can make a claim to the Employment Tribual if they believe that they have been discriminated [...]

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Workforces now include people with a broader range of religious beliefs, as well as people with no religious beliefs at all.

It's no surprise, then, that the law now recognises many different forms of employee religious discrimination. If you aren't aware of them all yet, or you just need a recap, here's what you need to know.

Who is protected from religious discrimination?

Who's protected in the workplace? The short answer is, everyone. Employees are protected by the Equality Act 2010, regardless of:

1. Their own religion, belief, or non-belief. Smaller religions and sects are included.

2. Their employer's religion, belief, or non-belief

3. Whether they're already employed, or applying for a job

Sometimes, an employee may only be perceived to be of a certain religion - e.g., their employer or colleague believes they 'look Rastafarian' - when in fact they aren't. In such cases, the employee is still protected against discrimination committed against them.

Direct religious discrimination

Direct religious discrimination is when an employer treats someone less favourably than other employees because of their religion.

The plainest form of direct discrimination is when an employer takes an unfair action against an employee based on their religion. Typical examples include:

1. Dismissing an employee because of their religion

2. Deciding not to hire an applicant because of their religion

3. Refusing to develop or promote an employee because of their religion

4. Paying an employee less because of their religion

However, employers are also responsible for forms of direct religious discrimination committed by their employees.

Harassment

Bullying an employee at work because of their religion is another form of direct discrimination, usually known as harassment. The harasser can be the employer, or the victim's colleague.

Any behaviour that the employee finds distressing, humiliating, or offensive can be considered harassment at employment tribunal - whether it is intentional or unintentional.

Victimisation

Employees who are treated unfairly because of their religion have a right to complain, raise a grievance, or make a claim at an employment tribunal. Yet in many cases, this leads to further ill-treatment from their employer or colleagues. The employee might be ignored, denied opportunities, or unfairly disciplined for speaking out.

Such actions constitute victimisation, another form of direct discrimination that is illegal under the Equality Act.

Indirect religious discrimination

Indirect religious discrimination is when an employer sets rules that apply to everyone, but which unfairly disadvantage employees with certain religions or beliefs.

For example, an employer might indirectly discriminate by:

1. Requiring a dress code that excludes people who wear items of clothing as part of their faith

2. Unfairly setting work schedules that prevent employees taking time off for religious observance

3. Unfairly banning wearing certain religious items, such as the symbolic bracelet worn by Sikh men

The key word above is 'unfairly'. It's lawful to have rules in the workplace, even those that may unintentionally exclude certain faiths - so long as they are reasonable and justifiable.

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Forms of Religious Discrimination | BrightHR

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Workforces now include people with a broader range of religious beliefs, as well as people with no religious beliefs at all. It's no surprise, then, that the law now recognises many different forms of employee religious discrimination. If you aren't aware of them all yet, or you just need a recap, here's what you need to know.

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What is Race discrimination? We explain its definition, areas covered and what constitutes discrimination.

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Inter Faith Week provides workplaces and businesses with a unique opportunity to engage with diversity and equalities and to encourage religious literacy and positive relations in the workplace.

SOME POSSIBLE ACTIVITY IDEAS INCLUDE:

Hold an Inter Faith Week training day on religion and belief.

Invite members of local faith communities for your staff to talk with and ask questions to gain insight into different religions, beliefs, customs, and cultural contexts.

Run a webinar or chat with your offices around the country on religion and belief issues and the importance of good relations.

Hold a virtual or in-person discussion about how religious literacy and dialogue might contribute to and strengthen the realisation of your corporate values.

Hold a 'coffee' morning for staff faith and belief groups to interact informally (like a Swedish Fika where colleagues meet to have a break and socialise during the workday).

Find out what your nearest local inter faith group is doing, reach out and encourage employees to participate in any activities it is holding that week (You can find a list of such groups at: https://www.interfaith.org.uk/members/list).

If you do not currently have a faith staff network or a multi-faith staff network, you could use Inter Faith Week to begin discussions on starting one. Or if you are already discussing one, perhaps you could use the Week to launch it.

Use the opportunity of Inter Faith Week to do positive outreach to colleges and schools, introducing your business and values to students whose faith and belief backgrounds are not represented much in your workforce or industry.

If you provide volunteering hours to your employees, why not encourage them to use some during Inter Faith Week to volunteer with a faith-based initiative such as a food bank or homeless shelter?

Arrange an opportunity for employees to visit two local places of worship to increase their religious literacy and tackle misunderstandings and stereotypes.

Host an Inter Faith Week Buddies' session across the month leading up to and including Inter Faith Week. Like a speed-networking event, this facilitates one-on-one conversations between two people of different faiths so they can learn from each other, in person or online.

Ask your HR or D&I teams to facilitate discussions about the benefits of a diverse workforce and create a welcoming context for people to bring their 'whole self' to work.

Inter Faith Week offers a valuable opportunity or staff faith and inter faith networks to raise awareness and increase religion and belief literacy. It's also a great time to develop and strengthen good relations in the workplace.

SOME POSSIBLE ACTIVITY IDEAS INCLUDE:

Increase understanding and raise awareness about the faith and belief of staff members, for example, by:

Bringing individual staff faith and belief networks together to share and learn

Running a mini social media campaign with a different faith or belief highlighted each day, perhaps featuring a member of staff of a different faith or belief and a quote from them.

Creating an in-house and/or online exhibition about different faiths and beliefs and about the importance of good inter -faith relations

Hosting a session where employees can hear presentations from members of staff of different faiths and beliefs about how what they believe and practise shapes their life, including their working life (you could include an opportunity for questions at the end

Inviting external speakers (such as local faith leaders or other knowledgeable members of faith and belief groups) to talk about particular faiths and beliefs

Find out about your nearest local inter-faith organisation and invite a speaker: IFN Member List

If your company/workplace does not have an inter -faith or multi-faith network, why not use the Week to begin discussions about starting one? Or, if you have already begun discussions, use the Week to launch one!

Arrange opportunities for staff to take part in an Inter -Faith Buddies conversation (see the Inter Faith Network's guidelines). Like a speed-networking event, this enables one-on-one conversations between two people of different faiths so they can learn from each other. This can be done in person or online.

Host a panel discussion for staff of different faiths and beliefs to discuss their perspectives on particular issues such as the climate or mental health and wellbeing.

Work with your company's Equalities or Diversity and Inclusion team to hold a discussion about faith and belief in the workplace, the benefits of a diverse workforce, and creating a welcoming context for people to bring their 'whole self' to work.

Work with your company's Equalities or Diversity and Inclusion team to arrange for staff to be able to visit two local places of worship of different faiths to increase their understanding and boost religious literacy.

With other staff faith groups, choose a charity about which you all mind and work on an inter faith basis to do a fundraiser for it. Or contact a local food bank, homeless charity or other such initiative and see if a group of staff of different faiths and beliefs could volunteer on an afternoon or evening during Inter Faith Week - or could help collect helpful items for it. Mitzvah Day, on the last Sunday of Inter Faith Week, might be a good time for that!

Invite a well-known figure or figures in your sector or industry who is known for have commented on the importance of their faith in the context of their work. Some examples can be found from the Faith and Belief Forum. Or it might, for example, be someone in your field who has been praised for their work with regard to diversity and inclusion.

Additional ideas and pointers for Employers can be found here.

Published 8 August 2022

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Inter Faith Week provides workplaces and businesses with a unique opportunity to engage with diversity and equalities and to encourage religious literacy and positive relations in the workplace. SOME POSSIBLE ACTIVITY IDEAS INCLUDE: Hold an Inter Faith Week training day on religion and belief.

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6 Steps to Respecting and Accommodating Religion in the Workplace | Traliant

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Organizations provide a more fulfilling experience for employees when they support the practice of religion, spirituality and beliefs at work.

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Despite the behaviour of some in parliament recently, the UK is, we must hope, a tolerant and respectful society with some of the most comprehensive anti-discrimination laws in the world. That said, the place of religion in the workplace is still regularly tested in tribunals and courts across the UK, with many people contending they experience discrimination because of their (or others') religious or other beliefs.

It is against the law for an employer to discriminate against anyone because of their religion or belief. This can range from well-established faiths to a belief in the BBC. However, while it is accepted that people with such beliefs should not face discrimination, beliefs do not always trump the demands of the employer. To complicate matters, many employers face allegations of indirect discrimination that can arise from seemingly harmless requirements, such as a dress code stating that employees are not able to display facial hair or wear anything that covers their face.

Indirect discrimination is a form of discrimination that can be justified. Not surprisingly, this is where many of the arguments arise. An employee may say that they are religious, for example, but an employer may say that wearing a long-flowing religious garment in an environment where that may cause a serious trip hazard is prohibited.

Likewise, it would not be unreasonable to argue that a teacher should refrain from covering their face in the classroom on the basis that seeing a teacher's mouth and facial expressions aids a child's education. As ever, justification comes down to managing the competing interests of the employer and the employee and any other relevant individuals.

Our laws place an obligation on businesses to be conscious of the effect their decisions may have on people of differing religions or beliefs. Further, if an employee says they have been adversely affected by a decision or policy because of their religion or belief, employers should think carefully about whether turning the request down would be disproportionate. Many employers attempt to put in place blanket bans - this is dangerous, and inflexibility is not welcomed by employment tribunals.

There are several easy steps you can take to lessen the risk of discriminating against your staff.

Make sure work events are inclusive - Not surprisingly, it is good practice to ensure that a range of foods and non-alcoholic drinks are offered at work events, and that any foods offered are clearly labelled to allow staff to be able to easily identify what they can or can't consume. Consult with your staff. With the festive season coming up, start your planning now.

Be aware of harassment towards or from employees and take a zero-tolerance approach - Educating employees about discrimination and what may constitute harassment, and encouraging them to respect each others' different beliefs, will likely help prevent inappropriate behaviour. Equally, if you face a claim, tribunals are always interested in what level of training you have given your managers and staff to raise awareness of these issues. In the event that such behaviour does occur, you should respond to evidence or complaints in a timely manner and ensure such behaviour is not tolerated. You should be mindful that organisations will be found to be responsible for religious discrimination carried out by their employees unless they can show they did everything they reasonably could to prevent it.

Be respectful of an employee's practices - Some religious groups may be required to pray during work hours. Where possible, you should assist this by designating a suitable space to be used, such as a meeting room. It is not a difficult or onerous requirement and failing to accommodate this could cause problems. Similarly, while time off for a religious holiday is normally taken out of annual leave, it may be possible for employees to allow 'swaps' of holiday, where - for example - an employee works on a public holiday related to the Christian calendar in exchange for receiving a holiday in their religious calendar as leave.

As ever, knowing what your employees require, listening and acting will go a long way to maintaining an engaged - and non-litigious - workforce.
J ames Tait is a partner at Browne Jacobson

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Managing religion and belief in the workplace

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Despite the behaviour of some in parliament recently, the UK is, we must hope, a tolerant and respectful society with some of the most comprehensive anti-discrimination laws in the world. That said, the place of religion in the workplace is still regularly tested in tribunals and courts across the UK, with many people contending they experience discrimination because of their (or others') religious or other beliefs.

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Belief is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. This means that a person cannot be discriminated against because of, or lack of, their belief.

In guidance, belief gets grouped together with religion. However, unlike religion, belief is not as clearly defined. This understandably can be a source of confusion for some people.

Phrases like "I don't believe it" are common in everyday situations, but when do they go from being an expression of amazement to a genuine statement of fact?

This comes down to philosophical belief. In short, a philosophical belief will be a genuinely held belief concerning human life and behaviour and be worthy of respect in a democratic society.

This is a complex area of employment law, and employers must take care when handling situations concerning belief to avoid claims of discrimination.

Looking at some recent Employment Tribunals, we can see examples of how belief has been managed in the workplace. We can distinguish between situations that were found to be discriminatory and those which weren't.

The Equality Act lays the foundation for how such cases are decided and is crucial for understanding compliance.

The Equality Act 2010

Since 2010, the Equality Act has provided the legal framework for protecting individuals from unfair treatment.

To fully protect your employees and business, it is critical to understand the Equality Act as well as ensuring that your workplace culture is actively inclusive.

Under the Equality Act, there are nine characteristics that are legally protected from discrimination. These are:

Age

Disability

Gender reassignment

Marriage and Civil partnership

Pregnancy and maternity

Race

Religion or belief

Sex

Sexual orientation

Managing people problems concerning any of these can be risky if the correct procedures are not followed. Especially when more than one protected characteristic is concerned.

Employers should read The Equality Act 2010 in full and seek professional HR advice when applying it to their business.

Cultivating a community of mutual respect in the workplace, through policies and behaviours, not only reduces risk of discrimination, but can improve both well-being and productivity.

Examples of philosophical beliefs at work
Ethical veganism
In January last year, Jordi Casamitjana won an unfair dismissal claim against his employer, the League Against Cruel Sports. They had dismissed him on the grounds of gross misconduct. Mr Casamitjana had cited his ethical veganism as the reason for his actions.

Judge Robin Postle ruled that the claimant's ethical veganism was a philosophical belief and therefore protected under the Equality Act from discrimination.

For comparison, just three months prior to this ruling, a similar case took place concerning vegetarianism, which was found not to be a philosophical belief.
Gender critical beliefs
Last month Maya Forstater won an Employment Appeal Tribunal against her employer the Centre for Global Development (CGD). They did not renew her contract due to her expressed gender critical beliefs that sex is immutable.

The ruling from Judge Choudhury stated that the claimant's belief was widely shared and did not seek to destroy the rights of trans persons. Employers must still seek to provide a safe environment for trans employees and investigate cases of purposeful misgendering.

This case looked at belief alongside freedom of expression, and the ruling suggests that an opinion does not always result in the harassment or discrimination of others.

Managing beliefs in the workplace

These examples show how easily philosophical belief can be misunderstood in the workplace, and how jumping to conclusions can escalate to a tribunal.

Conversations and investigations should take place with an employee to fully understand a situation concerning belief. When it comes to deciding if and what action to take, or making sense of the law, don't forget that we're here to help.

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Understanding philosophical beliefs in the workplace - The HR Dept

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Belief is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. This means that a person cannot be discriminated against because of, or lack of, their belief. In guidance, belief gets grouped together with religion. However, unlike religion, belief is not as clearly defined. This understandably can be a source of confusion for some people.

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Employment Law: Religious Discrimination in the Workplace

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Religious Diversity in the Workplace - Religious Diversity | Knowledgecity.com

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Everyday Example: Religion in the Workplace