There are a multitude of decided cases concerning employees dismissed for exhibiting unattractive beliefs at work, but rather fewer about those sacked for the mere holding of them. Particularly in view of this summer’s riots, that makes the EAT’s decision this month in Thomas -v- Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust a timely and welcome review of just how repellent your world-view has to be before it ceases to be worthy of legal protection.
The Equality Act prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion or philosophical belief. To count as a philosophical belief for these purposes, the EHRC Statutory Code of Practice says (echoing earlier case law) that it must satisfy a number of conditions. These include being genuinely held, relating to a weighty and substantial aspect of human life and behaviour, and in particular being “worthy of respect in a democratic society, not incompatible with human dignity and not in conflict with the fundamental rights of others”, the topic for today.
In 2018 Mr Thomas was dismissed by the Trust for what it said was dishonesty in his job application (concealment of a prior conviction of a criminal rather than philosophical nature), and for what he said was his belief in “English nationalism”. As he lacked service enough to claim unfair dismissal, his case turned entirely on whether he could establish that English nationalism as a protected belief under the Act.
Thomas explained in evidence what English nationalism meant...
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