Our professional guide to religious discrimination at work in NI
Have you been discriminated against at work because of your political opinion, or your religious or philosophical beliefs? If yes, this may be discrimination and you may be able to take legal action against the company. The discrimination doesn’t have to be intentional to be unlawful.
We are employment lawyers based in NI who only ever act for employees, never for employers.
What’s covered by ‘political opinion’?
Examples of political opinions include:
- Irish Nationalism
- Ulster Unionism
- Conservatism
- Socialism
Not all political opinions are protected by law. For example, opinions that support or approve of the use of violence for political ends are not covered.
What’s covered by ‘religious belief’?
Examples of religious beliefs include:
- Buddhism
- Christianity
- Hinduism
- Islam
- Judaism
- Protestantism
- Roman Catholicism
What’s covered by ‘philosophical belief’?
Examples of philosophical beliefs include:
- Humanism
- Pacifism
- Spiritualism
- Veganism
To be protected by law, philosophical beliefs are about weighty and substantial aspects of human life and behaviour with a level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance. They must be worthy of respect in a democratic society, and not incompatible with human dignity nor in conflict with the fundamental rights of others.
Your rights: Our professional guide to religious discrimination at work in NI
You should not be discriminated against if:
- You hold a particular political opinion, religious or philosophical belief
- You are perceived to hold a particular political opinion, religious or philosophical belief
- You are associated with another person who holds a particular political opinion, religious or philosophical belief
- You do not hold a particular political opinion, religious or philosophical belief
For example, you should not be rejected for a job because you are apolitical or an atheist or agnostic, nor because the employer believes that you are a Protestant or a Catholic or atheist, nor because you are married to a Protestant or Catholic.
Types of discrimination
- Direct discrimination is where you are treated worse than others because of your political opinion or religious or philosophical belief
- Indirect discrimination is where your employer unjustifiably operates a rule or policy that looks the same for everyone but in effect disadvantages people from your political opinion group or religious or philosophical belief
- Harassment is where a person behaves in a way that violates your dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, on the grounds of your political opinion or religious or philosophical belief
- Victimisation is where you’ve suffered as a result of making a complaint of discrimination due to political opinion or religious or philosophical belief or you’ve helped someone else to make such a complaint
What aspects of working life are covered?
You are protected against discrimination:
- You apply for a job
- In the terms and conditions of the job
- Within the working environment
- When opportunities arise for training or promotion
- You go through your employer’s disciplinary and grievance procedure
- During the dismissal or redundancy process
- When you request a job reference
There are a few circumstances where discrimination on the grounds of political opinion or religious or philosophical belief is allowed, such as when a particular religious belief or political opinion is required to do a job, for example, some political appointments, clergymen, ministers of religion and school teachers.
What this means to you
If you’ve been discriminated against at work, first, raise your complaint with your employer. If a resolution is not reached, you should notify the Labour Relations Agency to arrange early conciliation. If that doesn’t resolve the issue, you can lodge a claim with the tribunal.
We can help with all of that.
Note that you must act quickly. Your complaint should be made within three months of the date you knew about the act you’re complaining about, or six months from the date the act actually happened, whichever is earlier.
Related reading: Our professional guide to religious discrimination at work in NI
- Can I claim for religious discrimination?
- Our professional guide to discrimination at interview
- I’ve been treated unfairly because of my political opinion
- Is veganism a protected belief?
- Is my belief protected under law?
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