Articles by McGrigors
14 May 2005
When banter slides into sectarianism
by Murray McCall
(Published The Scotsman)
After a slow start, we are finally starting to see an increase in the number of discrimination claims brought under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations, which were introduced in December 2003.
Employers should tread carefully when considering requests for time off for religious holidays or pilgrimages and should be assessing whether any kind of cultural bias is inherent in the workplace. Of note in the West of Scotland is the spectre of sectarianism and the point at which football "banter" crosses the line to amount to religious harassment.
Statistics demonstrate that sectarian persecution in the workplace is rare. However, it has recently been reported that an employee claimed unfair dismissal, sex discrimination and discrimination on the grounds of religion after colleagues left items relating to Celtic Football Club on her desk. The employee also claimed she had been subjected to sectarian comments by her colleagues and management alike. If successful in her religious discrimination claim, which would be based on the perception that she was Catholic even if her actual religion is unknown, this will send a clear signal to employers to promote zero tolerance policies.
In one of the first successful religious discrimination cases under the new legislation (Williams-Drabble v Pathway Care Solutions), a tribunal held that an employer discriminated against a practising Christian employee by imposing a change in her work rota so that she had to work Sundays.
In another landmark case, Mohammed Khan was dismissed by NIC Hygiene for going on a five-week pilgrimage to Mecca. NIC Hygiene said the pilgrimage was unauthorised but Mr Khan said he had used his 25 days’ holiday plus another week’s unpaid leave. A Leeds employment tribunal ruled Mr Khan had been unfairly dismissed and discriminated against on the grounds of his religion and awarded him just under £10,000 in compensation.
The government also seems intent on backing equality claims. A bill published in March (the Equality Bill) will establish a single Commission for Equality and Human Rights in October 2007. The new body will have powers to promote good community relations and the legislation will make religious discrimination illegal by closing a loophole that protects people from discrimination on the basis of colour, race and nationality but not on the basis of religion.
Claims for religious discrimination are gathering momentum and it will be interesting to see to what extent claims based on sectarianism take off. Employers should take steps to ensure they are not on the receiving end of such claims by taking steps to eliminate unacceptable behaviour. This will be assisted by ensuring that office banter does not spiral out of control.
For further information please contact :
employmentpensions@mcgrigors.com
The frequency with which McGrigors is mentioned in the press is testament to the high-profile nature of the work we do. As well as this, our lawyers are regular contributors to the broadsheets and specialist publications ensuring the level of our knowhow is well known.