Workplace discrimination against BNP members now illegal
News article filed by BNP news team
More good news for British National Party members and supporters, in the wake of the conviction of five Islamic extremists, comes today in the wake of the passage of new employment laws which could allow BNP members to force employers to end workplace discrimination against our colleagues.
Stuart Chamberlain, an adviser at Consult GEE, an employment consultancy, said that following changes to the Employment Equality (Religious or Belief) Regulations 2003: “Employers need to tread carefully as the potential to discriminate has widened.
“From today, the regulations will mean that refusing to employ someone or treating an employee differently because of their philosophical beliefs could result in a discrimination claim,” he said.
The relevant change concerns the statutory definition of “religion or belief”. Under the previous laws, this was defined as “any religion, religious belief or similar philosophical belief.”However, from today, the word “similar” will be removed with the definition amended to “any religion, or religious or philosophical belief.”
The change means that members of the BNP, such as Wiltshire election candidate Robert Baggs, whose religious discrimination claim against a medical practice that refused to interview him failed, could now be successful.
Lawyers for Robert claimed that he was entitled to protection under religious discrimination laws because his membership of the BNP amounted to a “similar philosophical belief” to a religion or other religious belief.
However, the claim was dismissed after the employment tribunal ruled that the word “similar” meant that the philosophical belief in question must be similar in nature to a religious belief and that membership of the BNP did not meet this test.
But according to Cath Thorpe, an employment partner at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain: “Under the amended regulations, the Baggs case may well have been decided differently.”
Other lawyers warned the amendment could extend to cover those with other beliefs.
Audrey Williams, an employment expert at Eversheds, said: “While this is a relatively minor amendment to the regulations, there could be far-reaching consequences.
“For example, it is possible that due to the changes, people who adhere to any shared, philosophical belief system such as animal rights activism or Marxism could also be protected from workplace discrimination.”
http://www.bnp.org.uk/news_detail.php?newsId=1492