Andrew Parascandolo
Employment Solicitor
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Phone: 0113 200 7480
Email: ap@averywalters.com
Religion or Belief Discrimination Solicitors Leeds
Have you faced religion or belief based discrimination at work?
Discrimination against you due to your religion or beliefs can happen anywhere including the workplace, looking for work, or during a recruitment process, meaning you could be entitled to compensation under a religion or belief discrimination claim.
If you believe you have been a victim of discrimination due to your religion or beliefs, contact Avery Walters lawyers today for a free initial consultation on making a discrimination claim.
Contact our discrimination lawyers by calling our Leeds law firm on 0113 200 7480 or Harrogate law firm on 01423 564551. We are ready to speak to you confidentially about any potential claims.
What is Religion or Belief Discrimination?
Under the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful to be treated differently because of your religion or belief, or lack of religion or belief. The treatment of an individual may be a one-off action or as a result of a rule or policy and does not have to be intentional to be seen as being unlawful.
Examples of Religion or Belief Discrimination
There are 4 main types of discrimination when it comes to being discriminated against based on your religion or beliefs:
Direct discrimination
Direct discrimination happens when someone is treated worse than anyone else in a similar situation, based on their religion or beliefs.
Discrimination can also occur where both the discriminator and the person being discriminated against hold the same religious or philosophical beliefs.
Indirect discrimination
Indirect discrimination happens when an organisation has a particular policy or way of working that applies to everyone but which puts someone with a particular religion or belief at a disadvantage.
It is important to note that Indirect religion or belief discrimination can be permitted in some circumstances, however, the organisation or employer in question must be able to show that their policy or working processes are necessary for the way the business operates. This is known as objective justification.
Harassment
Harassment claims can be made when unwanted conduct, related to a person’s religion or beliefs, is received, resulting in creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person.
Harassment can never be justified. However, if the incident took place at work, an organisation or employer can show it did everything in its power to prevent people who work for it from acting in a harassing manner, you will not be able to make a claim for harassment against the employer. In this situation, you would have the option to make a claim against the individual harasser.
Victimisation
Victimisation can happen when a person is treated badly because they have made a complaint of religion or belief related to discrimination under the 2010 Equality Act. Victimisation may also occur if a person is supporting a colleague or friend who has made a complaint of religion or belief related discrimination.
Protected characteristics
Whether inside or outside of the workplace, both male and females can be and are discriminated against on the basis of their religion or philosophical beliefs.
When is being treated differently due to religion or belief lawful?
It is important to note that there are some key instances where being treated differently based on your religion or belief is lawful. These include:
In the workplace:
Belonging to a particular religion is essential for a job: this is called an occupational requirement
An organisation is taking positive steps to encourage a group of people with a religion or belief that is under-represented or disadvantaged in a position
A faith-based school appoints teachers based of their religion
An organisation with values based on a particular religion or belief restricts job opportunities to only people of their religion or belief. Note: restricting a job opportunity to people of a certain religion or belief is not lawful unless the nature of the work demands it
The circumstances fall under one of the other exceptions in the 2010 Equality Act that allows employers to provide different treatment or services based on religion or belief.
Outside the workplace:
A faith school is using criteria to give admission priority to children from a particular religion
A religious or belief organisation that restricts its membership or participation to persons of a particular religion or belief. Note: this only applies to non-commercial organisations whose purpose is to practice, promote or teach a religion or belief
An organisation is taking positive action to encourage or develop a group of people with religion and belief that is under-represented or disadvantaged in an activity
The circumstances fall under one of the other exceptions in the 2010 Equality Act that allow organisations to provide different treatment or services based on religion or belief.
Your rights under discrimination law
Employees are often unaware of their rights under discrimination law and therefore don’t know what to do or who to turn to if they’re being discriminated against.
The Act covers all areas of employment and applies to all employees (fixed and indefinite term), job applicants, trainees, contract workers, directors, those who are on secondment and the self-employed.
If you feel you are being discriminated against due to your religion or beliefs, it’s important to take all the correct steps in order to strengthen your negotiating position when it comes to claiming compensation or a settlement exit package. If you’re being discriminated against at work you should:
Tell your manager - put it in writing and keep a dated copy of the letter or email
Talk to your HR team or trade union - they’ll be able to give you advice
Collect evidence - keep a diary recording all of the times you’ve been discriminated against
Raise a formal 'grievance' (complaint) if the discrimination doesn't stop. All employers must have a grievance process - ask your manager or HR team for more information on this
You could make a claim at an employment tribunal if you can't solve your problem using the grievance procedure.
Our specialist discrimination solicitors work in employment law cases with experience in making discrimination claims and can help you with your claim.
Getting a settlement agreement after experiencing religion or belief discrimination in the workplace
If you feel that you may have been discriminated against due to your religion or psychological beliefs in the workplace, you may be able to make a claim to an employment tribunal. It's best to talk to your employer first to try to sort out the matter informally, in order to minimise the negative effects on all parties involved.
However, if a claim is to be made (either due to it being an incident outside of employment or you are unable to reach an agreement with your employer), the next step would be to get some legal advice. Our specialist team of discrimination solicitors represent clients who have suffered discrimination in all variety of aspects of their lives. We have past experience in successfully securing compensation for clients who have suffered discrimination at the hands of many organisations.
Contact Our Religious Discrimination Solicitors in Leeds & Harrogate
If you feel you have been the subject of employment discrimination, treated less favourably due to your religion or beliefs at work and are thinking of making a compensation claim. Our discrimination solicitors regularly represent clients in discrimination claims locally to our offices. We offer a NO-WIN-NO-FEE on ALL employment claims for Claimants.
For specialist advice, contact our team of lawyers for religious rights in our Leeds or Harrogate offices today for a specialist, no-obligation FREE phone advice..
* Laura Stafford is the SFE accredited memberand a full member of STEP