‘The Employment Tribunal, the Employment Appeal Tribunal and now the Court of Appeal have all agreed that an employer was justified in requiring a Christian to work on Sundays in Mba v London Borough of Merton.’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 17th December 2013
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
‘The recent confirmation by the Supreme Court that it was unlawful discrimination for Christian hotel owners to refuse a double-bedded room to a same-sex couple was of considerable interest as the latest in a string of high-profile cases involving religious belief and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (and the first such judgment involving the highest court in the land). We have already provided a summary of the facts and judgment here, and our post on the Court of Appeal ruling can be found here.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 11th December 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘An employment tribunal was wrong to conclude that refusing to work on a Sunday for religious reasons should not be protected under discrimination law, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’
OUT-LAW.com, 10th December 2013
Source: www.out-law.com
Mba v Merton London Borough Council [2013] EWCA Civ 1562; [2013] WLR (D) 474
‘A provision put in place by a council care home requiring a worker who was a Christian whose genuine belief that Sunday was a day of worship and rest to work on Sundays as rostered discriminated against the worker but was a proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aim of running the care home effectively.’
WLR Daily, 5th December 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
‘Ms Eweida, you may recall, is the British Airways employee who wanted to wear a cross on a necklace over her uniform so that others could see it. She considered that that was a religious belief. Over-simplifying, doing what she wanted to do meant a breach of her employer’s dress code. Ms Eweida complained that, amongst other things, she was the victim of an act of indirect discrimination.’
Employment Law Blog, 5th December 2013
Source: www.employment11kbw.com
‘A Christian care worker who claimed she was forced to leave her job after refusing to work Sundays because of her faith has lost her legal appeal.’
BBC News, 5th December 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Dress codes in the workplace are not uncommon. Most Employers have a certain standard of dress in the workplace, whether enforced through contractual terms or through customary practices. More recently, we have seen informal advice given by senior solicitors to new female recruits at Berwin Leighton. The advice was addressed specifically at women.”
No. 5 Chambers, 7th November 2013
Source: www.no5.com
“The most senior judge in England and Wales says a public consultation will open on the ‘divisive’ subject soon.”
Daily Telegraph, 5th November 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Video-call technology such as Skype and FaceTime could be used to allow criminal defendants to take part in court hearings from home, the most senior judge in England and Wales has said. In his first press conference, the new Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas, said the use of such applications could reduce the cost of hearings held in the run up to a trial.”
The Independent, 5th November 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Celestina Mba, a Christian care worker, asks the Court of Appeal to rule that she should not be forced by an employer to work on Sundays.”
Daily Telegraph, 23rd October 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Two devoutly religious beekeepers who reject modern technology have won the right not to fill in their VAT returns online after claiming it breached their human rights.”
The Independent, 21st October 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Recently I represented a white muslim convert lady to Islam in a claim of direct and indirect religious discrimination under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003. The Direct Discrimination claim was that she was treated less favourably as a muslim in not being provided with uninterrupted breaks. The indirect discrimination claim was wider.”
No. 5 Chambers, 14th October 2013
Source: www.no5.com
“Stop and search powers at ports and airports – used to detain the partner of the Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald for nine hours during the summer – are too intrusive, according to a parliamentary committee.”
The Guardian, 11th October 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Scotland Yard acted unlawfully after failing to fully investigate claims that innocent Muslims were detained and harassed at airports under sweeping anti-terrorism laws, the police watchdog has claimed.”
The Independent, 10th October 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Nearly 200 Muslim prisoners are suing the Government after being served halal food contaminated with pork, claiming their human rights were breached.”
Daily Telegraph, 29th September 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“In 1894 Edward Marshall Hall KC defended the Austrian-born prostitute Marie Hermann, charged with the murder of a client whose body she hid in a trunk. The jury acquitted of murder and convicted of manslaughter after what has become his most famous jury speech ending with, ‘Look at her, gentlemen of the jury, look at her. God never gave her a chance, won’t you?’ The personalities may have changed and the language less flowery but the basic principle of a jury trial is the same – we judge our peers on the evidence and that is the evidence presented in court. This includes our assessment of other human beings, not just what they say but how they say it.”
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 25th September 2013
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
“Yesterday, before His Honour Judge Peter Murphy ruled that a female Muslim defendant in a criminal trial must remove her face-covering veil (niqaab) whilst giving evidence, Home Office Minister Jeremy Brown said he was ‘instinctively uneasy’ about restricting religious freedoms, but that there should be a national debate over banning the burka.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 17th September 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“The government should not tell women what to wear, the home secretary has said, amid ongoing debate over the use of full-face veils.”
The Guardian, 17th September 2013
Source: www.guardian.com
“A Muslim woman can stand trial wearing a full-face veil but must remove it to give evidence, a judge has ruled.”
BBC News, 16th September 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“We’re finally up against it now, aren’t we? After years of dancing round the issue, the law is finally called upon to make a specific ruling on the wearing of the niqab. So let’s make sure we know what we are talking about, because without a doubt there will be proponents and opponents alike who seek to interpret the decision (whatever it may be) to suit their cause.”
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 16th September 2013
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
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