New employment laws that came into force today could pave the way for political activists – including members of the British National Party (BNP) - to bring religious discrimination claims in the workplace, experts have warned.
Stuart Chamberlain, an adviser at Consult GEE, an employment consultancy, said that following changes to the Employment Equality (Religious or Belief) Regulations 2003: “Employers need to tread carefully as the potential to discriminate has widened. From today, the regulations will mean that refusing to employ someone or treating an employee differently because of their philosophical beliefs could result in a discrimination claim," he said.
The relevant change concerns the statutory definition of “religion or belief”. Under the previous laws, this was defined as “any religion, religious belief or similar philosophical belief.” However, from today, the word “similar” will be removed with the definition amended to “any religion, or religious or philosophical belief.”
The change means that members of the BNP, such as Mr Baggs, whose religious discrimination claim against a medical practice that refused to interview him failed, could now be successful. Lawyers for Mr Baggs claimed that he was entitled to protection under religious discrimination laws because his membership of the BNP amounted to a “similar philosophical belief” to a religion or other religious belief.
However, the claim was dismissed after the employment tribunal ruled that the word “similar” meant that the philosophical belief in question must be similar in nature to a religious belief and that membership of the BNP did not meet this test. But according to Cath Thorpe, an employment partner at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain: “Under the amended regulations, the Baggs case may well have been decided differently.”
Other lawyers warned the amendment could extend to cover those with other beliefs.
Audrey Williams, an employment expert at Eversheds, said: “While this is a relatively minor amendment to the regulations, there could be far-reaching consequences. For example, it is possible that due to the changes, people who adhere to any shared, philosophical belief system such as animal rights activism or Marxism could also be protected from workplace discrimination.”
However, Consult GEE’s Mr Chamberlain said there are circumstances where it remains possible for an employer to discriminate on the grounds of belief.
“The regulations include a safety net of genuine occupational requirements to avoid situations where it would be unrealistic to expect an employer to not be able to discriminate on the grounds of religious or other belief. For example, a socialist publication is likely to be able to appoint a columnist with socialist views and not fear a discrimination claim from applicants of other political leanings.”
Times Online
Showing posts with label employment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label employment. Show all posts
April 30, 2007
Many minorities 'live in poverty'
Some 40% of people from ethnic minority backgrounds are living in poverty, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has said. The figure is twice as high as it is for white people, and rises to 65% for those of Bangladeshi origin, it says. The charity's research also suggests minorities are still overlooked in the workplace compared with others, despite often having better qualifications.
It says government policy needs an "urgent rethink" but ministers insist new measures are being considered. The foundation classifies individuals and families with incomes 60% of the national average as living in poverty, a measure also used by the government.
Equal opportunity
The foundation said more thought needed to be given to how assistance was targeted to minority groups to ensure equal opportunity in the workplace.
Publishing a series of reports examining the link between poverty and ethnicity, the foundation said 40% of people from minority backgrounds were currently living in poverty. This figure rose as high as 55% for those from Pakistani backgrounds and 45% for black Africans. Almost one in three of those from Indian and black Caribbean backgrounds are below the poverty line.
Success in raising educational standards among minorities had not been rewarded by commensurate progress in the workplace, the reports found. Pakistani and Bangladeshi men with degrees were less likely to be employed than their white counterparts while women from Asian backgrounds suffered high levels of unemployment.
These problems were not confined to first generation immigrants, it concluded, with British-born individuals from minority backgrounds less likely to be in work than their white equivalents.
Ministerial summit
"Although the past decade has seen some improvements, there are still some very serious problems which remain unsolved," said foundation director Julia Unwin. "This research shows how policies need to address the different situation of each group and be followed through on a practical level."
Employment and Welfare Reform Minister Jim Murphy said the lives of ethnic minority groups had improved over the last decade but acknowledged more needed to be done.
"The City Strategy programmes, a new partnership between government and providers, will help to tackle worklessness amongst ethnic minority communities," he said. "The Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force will be proposing new ways of tackling employer discrimination ahead of a ministerial summit early in the summer."
BBC
It says government policy needs an "urgent rethink" but ministers insist new measures are being considered. The foundation classifies individuals and families with incomes 60% of the national average as living in poverty, a measure also used by the government.
Equal opportunity
The foundation said more thought needed to be given to how assistance was targeted to minority groups to ensure equal opportunity in the workplace.
Publishing a series of reports examining the link between poverty and ethnicity, the foundation said 40% of people from minority backgrounds were currently living in poverty. This figure rose as high as 55% for those from Pakistani backgrounds and 45% for black Africans. Almost one in three of those from Indian and black Caribbean backgrounds are below the poverty line.
Success in raising educational standards among minorities had not been rewarded by commensurate progress in the workplace, the reports found. Pakistani and Bangladeshi men with degrees were less likely to be employed than their white counterparts while women from Asian backgrounds suffered high levels of unemployment.
These problems were not confined to first generation immigrants, it concluded, with British-born individuals from minority backgrounds less likely to be in work than their white equivalents.
Ministerial summit
"Although the past decade has seen some improvements, there are still some very serious problems which remain unsolved," said foundation director Julia Unwin. "This research shows how policies need to address the different situation of each group and be followed through on a practical level."
Employment and Welfare Reform Minister Jim Murphy said the lives of ethnic minority groups had improved over the last decade but acknowledged more needed to be done.
"The City Strategy programmes, a new partnership between government and providers, will help to tackle worklessness amongst ethnic minority communities," he said. "The Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force will be proposing new ways of tackling employer discrimination ahead of a ministerial summit early in the summer."
BBC
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