On 6th July 2022 an employment tribunal found that Maya Forstater had been directly discriminated against by the Centre for Global Development (CGD) because of her beliefs.

This follows on from the precedent-setting judgment of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in June 2021, which found that the “gender critical” belief “that biological sex is real, important, immutable and not to be conflated with gender identity” is covered by the protected characteristic of religion and belief in the Equality Act 2010.

Although the recent employment tribunal decision is only a first-instance judgment, and not binding on others, it gives some interesting indications of the way a tribunal can be expected to treat a similar set of facts, and the principles under which it will be operating.

Until now, some trans rights advocates have encouraged the idea that “gender critical” beliefs are protected only if a person keeps them to themselves. But, as Forstater’s solicitor, Peter Daly, writes:

“Importantly – and contrary to much commentary and speculation – this judgment establishes that the legal protection goes further than protecting the mere holding of gender critical beliefs: acts of manifesting the belief through lawful speech and action are protected.”

To avoid finding themselves in the same position as CGD, employers should set social media policies and provide guidance to employees on what is appropriate communication ensuring that they treat different beliefs consistently.