Religious discrimination: Not every act motivated or inspired by religion is protected
Published: 04:42PM BST 22 Mar 2010
In our recent Religious discrimination or persecution update we addressed the subtle distinction between the right to hold a religious belief and the manifestation of that belief, which will not always be legally protected.
The case of Eweida and British Airways Plc attracted a storm of media attention, and resulted in British Airways amending its uniform policy, which had previously prohibited staff wearing any visible item of adornment – for example a necklace – while at work.
Mrs Eweida complained of a number of incidents between 2003 and 2006 which she said showed anti-Christian bias on the part of BA, and in particular she took issue with its uniform policy preventing her wearing a cross while at work. She refused to comply with the policy and was sent home as a result.
Her allegations were rejected by the Employment Tribunal, but she appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal and then to the Court of Appeal on a single issue, which was whether the policy of preventing her from wearing an open cross indirectly discriminated against her on grounds of religion and belief.
In order to be successful in her appeal, Mrs Eweida would need to show that BA's policy placed Christians at a substantial disadvantage when compared to others who did not share her belief.
The Court of Appeal decisively rejected her submissions as on the evidence before it, the decision to wear the cross visibly was a 'personal choice' and 'not a requirement of scripture or of the Christian religion'. As she alone was disadvantaged by the policy and not Christians as a religious group, her appeal failed.
It therefore appears that the floodgates have, for the time being at least, been shut. This case demonstrates once again that freedom to manifest one's religion or belief is not an absolute right.
The difference between manifesting a requirement of a particular faith and manifesting a religiously motivated preference which is not an actual religious requirement is important because it appears that this will now determine the extent of legal protection afforded to the employee.
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Thalis Vlachos,
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