Handle Workplace Discrimination With Care

The Employment Tribunal has recently stated that employers need to handle cases of discrimination sensitively. This was made after a Christian nursery assistant was wrongly dismissed from her place of employment. She was dismissed following a discussion with a lesbian colleague, in the conversation she expressed that she held the belief that homosexuality is a sin, this upset her colleague and lead to the claim being made against her.Initially many people wonder why the Employment tribunal found in favour of the Christian nursery assistant, as she had admitted to beliefs looked down upon in wider society, and had shared those beliefs in her workplace. However this decision was made for the following reasons; the employer had sought to characterise the claimant’s behaviour as harassment, even before the conversation, this included giving the bible as a present. However no actual investigation had been undergone prior to disciplinary action being taken, so there was no evidence to support the claim that the claimant had targeted her colleague due to her sexuality. Additionally, the conversation in which the claim stemmed was initiated by the claimant’s colleague, despite their employer’s policy banning discussions on religious topics, and no action was taken against that individual.Furthermore the tribunal concluded that the employer had formed a stereotypical assumptions of its Christian employee and her beliefs. Leading to the decision that dismissal of the claimant was an unlawful act of discrimination.This emphasises the importance of an employer to follow a fair disciplinary process. Making a full investigation and bearing in mind that it is unlawful to discriminate against employees who hold a genuine religious belief that homosexuality is a sin, as this has been accepted as a belief worthy of respect in democratic society by the Tribunal. You need to be sensitive when one of your employees sexuality clashes with the beliefs of another of your employees, however if issues do arise do not just to conclusions, ensure a full investigation, and disciplinary process is made, before taking further action.