April/May 2020 (vol. 16/6)

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Expert witness: When is belief a protected characteristic?

Protection from discrimination on grounds of religion or belief

Summary:

Both religion and belief are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, but it seems that not everyone is protected. Legal expert Diana Kloss explains.

Discrimination against someone because of their religious beliefs was not unlawful in Britain until the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 came into force in December 2003. The legislation stemmed from an EU Directive

Even before 2003, where adherents to a religion also constituted a racial group, as with Sikhs and Jews, discrimination on grounds of race might have applied. Religious discrimination was unlawful in Northern Ireland from 1989…

 

Diana Kloss is a barrister, former part-time employment judge, Acas arbitrator and author.

 

Author: Kloss D

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Occupational Health at Work April/May 2020 (vol. 16/6) pp35-37

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