The Employer’s Perspective
The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations came into effect on December 1st 2003. In order to be covered by the regulations, a religion or belief should meet one or more of the following criteria:
The Regulations do not require individuals to disclose their religion or belief to an employer or prospective employer. There is nothing in the legislation that states potential employees must disclose their religion or beliefs. An employer can unlawfully discriminate against an individual on the grounds of religion or belief even where the employer is not aware of that religion or belief.
A question regarding religion or belief should only be included on an application form or at interview if it is a genuine occupational requirement for the job.
The 2001 census gave the following figures within the UK from 42 million responses:
Although previously race relation legislation provided some protection for certain religious groups, there has never been specific inclusive protection for the vast majority of religions or beliefs. At present, best practice on the part of employers is to assume that an individual’s religion or belief is included within the Regulations.
A Home Office survey in 2001 demonstrated that employment is one of the three areas of life where people from religious organisations are most likely to face unfair treatment. The other two areas of life were education and the media.
The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations came into effect on December 1st 2003. Basically, people of any religion or belief are protected in the workplace from both direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation on the basis of that religion or belief. The law covers all aspects of employment from applying for a job through to obtaining references on leaving. It also covers training, promotion, pensions and the rights of contract workers. The regulations also cover discrimination on the basis of perceived religion. Whether or not someone is actually of a particular religion is irrelevant if they are discriminated against because someone else thinks or assumes that they are.
Direct discrimination occurs when one person treats another less favourably because of his or her religion or belief. It includes treatment such as harassment, failure to promote, lack of training opportunities and dismissal.
Indirect discrimination occurs when an employer operates a policy or practice that disadvantages people of a particular religion or belief in comparison with other people. For example, a requirement to socialise with alcohol or to work on a Sunday.
Like the other discrimination laws, the regulations state that the employer is liable for discrimination carried out by its employees.
The legislation provides for:
Some exceptions are permitted under very specific circumstances. For example a Catholic school would be able to put a case for employing only a Catholic head teacher but would be unlikely to justify this in the case of auxiliary staff such as a cleaner or grounds person.
Employers increasingly appreciate the benefits of having a diverse workforce. To recruit the best employees you need to consider the entire graduate pool and not exclude people on the basis of sex, race, disability or religion. Businesses realise that they tend to be more successful if they reflect the diversity of the community they serve.
Employers have a legal responsibility to take reasonable steps to prevent unlawful discrimination. This responsibility should apply to recruitment, selection, training, promotion, dismissal and redundancy policies and practices. Although not a legal requirement a written equal opportunities policy shows a commitment to developing non-discriminatory personnel practices.
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