A recent case has come to the attention of national newspapers and highlights the chasm that resides in between the Tribunal decisions based on religious discrimination re: Christianity and the decisions based on, well, just about any other religion.
Celestina Mba raised a claim against Merton Council because they denied her the right to have Sundays off work so that she could recognise the Sabbath. This is the most recent case claiming religious discrimination whose outcome have not gone in Christianity's favour. It may well be that when tested in the Tribunal Christianity is not as rigid as the Tribunal 'needs' it to be. It does not require followers to do anything specific at a definitive time, like praying- some churches even offer services on a Saturday evening for example. It is therefore difficult to prove discrimination if a religion is this flexible.
Below are some other cases that mirror this decision.
Gary McFarlane, a former elder in a church in Bristol, lost his fight at the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in London to prove discrimination by the relationship charity Relate in 2009. Mr McFarlane lost his job after refusing to provide sex therapy to gay couples.
Nadia Eweida, lost her appeal against a ruling which cleared British Airways of discrimination by stopping her wearing a cross visibly at work.
Hannah Adewole complained that wearing trousers goes against her religious beliefs.
Mrs Adewole, 45, cited a command in the Bible that women should not wear men's clothing, and claimed she was banned from wearing scrub dresses in theatre. It was even pointed out in her claim that Muslim midwives are allowed to vary official uniform with their own hijabs and tops. This did not help her and she lost her claim.
Steven Preddy and Martyn Hall are a gay couple who brought a successful claim against the Christian owners of a Cornwall B&B for refusing to let them share a bed.
And even more recently, Christians and politicians reacted with dismay after a judge overturned centuries of custom by outlawing a town hall in Devon from putting prayers on the formal agenda.
When these decisions are looked at in the light of the outcome of Cherfi v G4S Security Services Ltd, where a Muslim employee was allowed to work different hours so that he could attend the Finsbury Park Mosque, it seems sad that Tribunals are forgetting the Christian heritage of Britain. However, it does show that in its place we have some excellent legal brains.