Equalities watchdog in call for evidence on issues of religion or belief

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has this month launched a major call for evidence about religion or belief in the workplace and in the use of services and facilities.

The Commission said it wanted to gather as much information as possible from members of the public, employers, providers of services, legal advisers and religion or belief organisations.

It is seeking details of both negative and positive experiences since 2010, including:

• How religion or belief has affected the recent experiences of job applicants, employees or customers;
• Whether people who hold a religion or belief are aware of their legal rights and if appropriate information and guidance is available to them;
• Views on the effectiveness of current equality and human rights legislation on religion or belief;
• The recent experiences of employers when these issues arise in the workplace;
• The recent experience of organisations providing services to the public when issues around religion or belief are raised.

This information will be used to assess how employers and service providers are taking religion or belief into account and the impact this has on individuals.

The work covers all faiths and beliefs and experiences in England, Scotland and Wales.

The Commission said: “We want to hear about the issues people face and how they find solutions. The Commission will also use the evidence as part of its work looking at how effective the current legislation is proving in practice.

“Despite a number of high profile legal cases involving the manifestation of religion or belief, very little is known about how frequently these issues occur in practice.”

More information can be found here. The call for evidence – part of a three-year Commission programme – remains open for responses until mid-October.

Mark Hammond, the EHRC’s chief executive, said: “Everyone has the right to be treated with fairness, dignity and respect, that includes respect for people’s faith or beliefs, and respect for the rights of others.

"We are well aware of the complexity in dealing with such issues. Undertaking this major piece of work will help to build our understanding about how well the law is working so we can fully examine the adequacy of the current legal framework for religion or belief.”

In October 2013, the Commission published Shared Understandings: a new EHRC strategy to strengthen understanding of religion or belief in public life. This can be found here.