Religious Discrimination

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What is Religious Discrimination?

It is against the law to discriminate against you because of your religion or belief. This applies:

when you buy or use goods and services

at work

in education

in housing.

What does religion or belief mean?

You are protected by law from discrimination because of your religion or belief if you:

belong to an organised religion such as Christianity, Judaism or Islam

have a profound belief which affects your way of life or view of the world. This includes religious and philosophical beliefs, or a lack of belief, such as Atheism

take part in collective worship

belong to a smaller religion or sect, such as Scientology or Rastafarianism

have no religion, for example, if you are an atheist.

The law against discrimination because of religion or belief does not cover purely political beliefs unless they are also philosophical beliefs.

You are protected if someone discriminates against you because they think you are a certain religion, when you are not. For example, it's against the law for someone to discriminate against you for wearing a headscarf because they think you are a Muslim, even if you are not actually Muslim.

Discrimination by association is also against the law. For example, it is against the law to refuse to let you into a restaurant because of the religion of someone who is with you.

Call our harassment claim line on 0845 519 7798 or complete our harassment claim form

What is discrimination?

It is discrimination to treat you unfairly compared to someone else, because of your religion or belief. This is called direct discrimination and is illegal. Examples include:

refusing you a bank loan because you're Jewish

refusing to allow you into a restaurant because you're Muslim

dismissing you from work because you're Rastafarian.

You may be able to make a complaint if you have suffered direct discrimination because of your religion or belief.

It is also illegal for someone to have a rule, policy or practice which someone of a particular religion or belief is less likely to be able to meet than other people and this places them at a disadvantage. This is called indirect discrimination.

Examples of indirect discrimination might include:

refusing to allow you into a restaurant if you're wearing a hijab or turban

requiring all your employees to dress in a particular way if this means they can’t wear an item of clothing they regard as part of their faith.

If you have suffered indirect discrimination because of your religion or belief, you may be able to make a complaint about it. However, if the person or organisation you are complaining about can show there are genuine reasons for the rule, policy or practice and that it has nothing to do with your religion or belief, this won't count as discrimination.

For example,it might not be discrimination if your employers need you to dress in a particular way for health and safety reasons, such as wearing protective headwear, even though it might be against your religion to remove your turban.

Victimisation

Discrimination can take the form of victimisation. This is where you're treated worse than someone else because you've complained or taken legal action about religious discrimination. It is also victimisation if you're treated unfairly because you've supported someone else taking action, for example, if you act as a witness in someone else's discrimination case.

Call our harassment claim line on 0845 519 7798 or complete our harassment claim form

Physical or verbal abuse because of religion or belief

It's a criminal offence to attack you because of your religion or belief, or because of your lack of religion. This includes both physical and verbal abuse.

Someone is also committing a criminal offence if they stir up hatred of a particular religious group. For example, if they publish or distribute racist information or information designed to stir up religious hatred.

If one of these criminal offences is committed against you or your family, you should report it to the police.

Religious discrimination in the workplace and training

You are protected from religious discrimination in your workplace. This means you are protected:

whatever your religion or belief

whatever your employer's religion or belief

whether you are already working for your employer

whether you are applying for a job.

Discrimination at work because of your religion or belief could include:

dismissing you because of your religion

advertising for job applicants of one religion only

requiring you to dress in a certain way, for example, requiring all women to wear a short skirt. This would not be acceptable for women of several different religions

requiring you not to wear sacred items. For example, a Sikh man might be required to remove their kara (symbolic bracelet). However, if the employer can justify this on health and safety grounds, this wouldn't count as discrimination

making you work at times that you cannot work because of your religion victimisation

bullying at work because of your religion. This is also known as harassment

How do I make a Discrimination or Harassment Claim?

If you are being discriminated or harassed in any way the call and speak to one of our network of solicitors and will handle you claim. They will process your claim and update you every step of the way until they have claimed the maximum amount of compensation to ease any suffering that you have had.

You can call our harassment claim line on 0845 519 7798 to speak to one of our harassment claim specialists or complete our online contact form and we will call you back within the hour.