Is English nationalism a protected belief?

When does a belief become a protected belief for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010?  

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in London recently considered whether anti-Islamic English nationalism was a protected belief under the Act.

Background

The Claimant was dismissed due to his failure to declare an unspent conviction. He contended that the real reason for his dismissal was his belief in English nationalism and brought a discrimination claim based on his belief.

The Employment Tribunal (ET) held a preliminary hearing to determine whether English nationalism was a protected belief under the Act. It found that the Claimant held anti-Islamic views, including that Islam should be banned from England and that Muslims should be forcibly removed from the country.

His claim did not meet the requirement that the belief must be “worthy of respect in a democratic society, must not be incompatible with human dignity, and must not conflict with the fundamental rights of others”.  The Claimant’s belief was not a protected characteristic under the Act.

Employment Appeal Tribunal

Dismissing his appeal, the EAT agreed with the ET’s conclusion that the Claimant’s belief in English nationalism was not protected under the Equality Act due to its extreme anti-Islamic nature.

He sought to rely on case law which stated that only extreme beliefs, such as advocating totalitarianism or Nazism, would fall outside the protection of the Act.

The EAT considered the Claimant’s beliefs crossed the threshold, explicitly promoting intolerance and excluding an entire religious group from society. This is not protected under the Act or the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention).  The Convention provides that “a person cannot claim the protection of the Convention, where to do so would allow the performance of any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms”.

Although the Claimant is not prevented from holding his views, he cannot, under the Act, claim discrimination for holding them.  

Comment

Employment Tribunals will scrutinise beliefs thoroughly. To be protected characteristics under the Act, they must not cause harm or conflict with the rights of others.

This case also highlights the importance of equality and diversity training, and in particular, reminding employees of their rights and responsibilities regarding expressing their beliefs and encouraging respect for colleagues who hold opposing beliefs.

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