A second Employment Tribunal decision backs the right of employers to ensure employees offer a full range of services in a non discriminatory way even if that conflicts with an employee’s belief.
Relate, who are committed to equal opportunities, offers relationship counselling services to all couples. In contravention of this policy, one of their counsellors said he was unwilling to offer therapy for same-sex couples as he felt it was incompatible with his Christian beliefs. Relate terminated his employment.
The counsellor claimed he had been discriminated against on grounds of his religion. The Employment Tribunal found that his employment had not been terminated because of his faith but because his employer believed he was not complying with their equal opportunities policy. As his employer would have terminated the employment of any employee not complying with their policy, then there was no discrimination.
However, although the counsellor’s religious discrimination claim was not upheld, the Employment Tribunal held that he was unfairly dismissed because his employer had not followed the correct procedure in dismissing him.
This claim acts as a reminder that employers must follow correct procedures otherwise they are at risk of Employment Tribunal claims even if the employer had a valid reason for the dismissal. If you are concerned about dismissal procedures and wish to avoid the risk of Employment Tribunal claims, please call either Ashley Hunt or Vaishali Thakerar on 0116 212 1000 now or complete one of the on-line forms.
