With so many political issues high on the agenda at the moment, it’s likely that you’ll have conversations about what’s going on in the world while you’re at work. However, sharing your political views can give rise to discrimination, harassment, and even unfair dismissal. 
It is unlawful to be treated worse than someone else because of your political beliefs (or lack of them). The law that applies in Northern Ireland is the Fair Employment and Treatment Order 1998 – this is one of the few areas in law where people in NI have more rights than those in the rest of Great Britain.
In GB, if you suffer political discrimination, your views may be covered by the Equality Act 2010 which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of Religion or Belief however your case may be trickier than it would be in NI.
In Northern Ireland, your employer mustn’t treat you less favourably because you support any particular government policies. For example, you mustn’t be disadvantaged because they perceive you be a Nationalist or Unionist, or because you are pro-Brexit or a Remainer, or, indeed, because you don’t hold any political opinion at all.
Similarly, it is illegal to intimidate you through sectarian harassment in the workplace, such as singing sectarian songs, making sectarian remarks, or flying sectarian flags.
Are your beliefs protected?
You are protected if you can answer “Yes” to all these questions about your belief:
- Is it a belief (not an opinion or viewpoint)?
- Is it in relation to a significant aspect of human life?
- Is your belief worthy of respect?
- Is it cogent, serious, cohesive and important?
- Is it compatible with human dignity and human rights?
- Do you genuinely hold this belief?
Note that, if you approve the use of violence for political ends, those beliefs are not protected in law. For example, two tribunals found that membership of the BNP was not protected. In general, supporting a political party isn’t covered, but holding a philosophical belief is (such as Socialism, Marxism, Communism or Capitalism).
In GB, your employer must not treat you differently because:
- You are (or are not) of a particular religion
- You hold (or do not hold) a particular philosophical belief
- Someone thinks you are of a particular religion or hold a particular philosophical belief (discrimination by perception)
- You are connected to someone who is of a particular religion or holds a particular philosophical belief (discrimination by association)
What your employer should do
- Your employer should have up-to-date equality policies in place, and make employees aware of them
- They should ensure that employees respect each other’s views, and have a zero-tolerance approach to offensive behaviour and language
- If you make a complaint, your employer should follow the correct legal procedure
What this means to you
If you feel you’ve been mis-treated at work because of your political beliefs, talk to us early on and we’ll advise whether you might be entitled to compensation.
For more on this subject, please read our other article about political discrimination.
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