No religious discrimination or unfair dismissal
In Amachree v Wandsworth Borough Council, an employment tribunal held that a Christian housing officer who told a terminally ill service user that she should “put her faith in God” and sought publicity when disciplinary action was taken was fairly dismissed and not discriminated against because of his religion.
Mr Amachree, a Christian, believes that when people are ill and doctors cannot provide medical help they should “look to God”. A service user with an incurable disease complained about Mr Amachree. She said that during an interview he told her that her illness was a result of her lack of faith in God and that she needed to “find God”. He accepted that it was not his role to discuss the faith of service users, but a few weeks later, a local Christian organisation issued a press release, with Mr Amachree’s authority, with the headline “London homelessness prevention officer told ‘say God bless’ and we’ll sack you”. After a full investigation, he was dismissed for making offensive and inappropriate comments to a service user during an interview and releasing her personal details to the media, both of which could have a damaging effect on the Council’s reputation.
The employment tribunal dismissed Mr Amachree’s claims. He had not been unfairly dismissed because the Council had a genuine belief formed on ample grounds that the remarks had been inappropriate and might have had a serious impact on its reputation. Nor had Mr Amachree been discriminated against on the ground of his religion. The dismissal came out of Mr Amachree’s misconduct and not the fact that he is a Christian. In any event, a comparator, i.e. a person in contact with service users who inappropriately promotes religious beliefs or any other strong personal views, would not have been treated any differently.
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