A recent consultation conducted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found widespread confusion and misunderstanding about the laws protecting freedom of religion or belief.
Nearly 2,500 people responded to a call for evidence from the EHRC to find out what people experience following extensive media and public debate about how people are able to express their religious and other beliefs. That often included how to deal with the right to express beliefs which others might view as offensive.The results of the consultation will inform a report on the adequacy of the laws protecting religion or belief which will be eagerly awaited as the EHRC found widespread public confusion and misunderstanding about the law. Some of the ley findings included:Some employees felt they were under pressure to keep their religion hidden at work and felt discriminated against when it came to wearing religious symbols or expressing their beliefs.
People reported being mocked for their beliefs including Christians, who said their colleagues assumed they were bigoted. Jewish and Muslim participants said they found it hard to get time off work, even as part of their normal annual leave, for religious observance. Some alleged that they were excluded from meetings, or passed over for promotion or recruitment due to their beliefs and felt unable to raise the issue for fear of repercussions. Humanists and atheists reported that they experienced unwanted religious proselytising at work.
Anxiety for employers who fear falling foul of what they see as complicated equality and human rights legislation. The last point, of course, highlights the other key ingredients in the legislative landscape, i.e. not just the provisions of the Equality Act 2010, but also the human rights aspects. Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides for freedom of thought, conscience and religion and Article 10 gives the right to freedom of expression, which has really come to the forefront of people’s minds with the attack on the Charlie Ebdo magazine’s office in Paris.
The satirical magazine publishes material that mocks various religious and other groups. The murderous assault created an intense debate with regard to a freedom that is the bedrock of a free and fair society and led the EHRC to publish a Freedom of Expression Guidance. Within the workplace there are deep concerns around religious practice and attire which in the US and UK has largely been accommodated. However there is a growing mood that religious practice is given too much space and needs to be curbed lest it lead to a watering down of secular liberal values.
The EHRC have indicated they will be producing guidance for employers “which we hope will help everyone address some of the issues which have come out of the consultation”. From an employers’ and legal advisers’ point of view, it is ‘hoped’ that the guidance will bring together all the strands of equality and human rights law which impact on the issue, rather than having a piecemeal approach. In the meantime, employers still have to deal with workplace issues. So what can they do to avoid falling foul of the law? Taking legal advice is obviously one route and observing the EHRC’s guidance on freedom of expression is another. Employers will also find Acas’ publication, ‘Religion or belief and the workplace’ a very useful source of information.
Certainly more work is needed in this area because it seems odd that in organisations where diversity is a core value, the EHRC findings indicate that some employees feel under pressure to keep their religion hidden and others are being mocked for their beliefs. This proposition is reinforced by the fact that some employers and employees reported no or few issues where inclusive work environments had been created which were supportive of religion or belief. As the range of beliefs outside of traditional religions increases employers will need to take extreme care in striking the right balance.
