News Feed
A belief in the 'higher purpose of journalism' is covered under the Equality Act 2010.
In 2010 the judgment in Grainger v Nicholson [2010] caused some concerns. In this case, it was ruled that Nicholson's strong environmental beliefs were a 'philosophical belief' as defined within the Equality Act 2010. It was specified that to be covered by the Act, a philosophical belief must be genuinely held, must be a belief in a weighty and substantial matter, must not be just an opinion or viewpoint based on present facts (it must be deeper than that) and must be cogent, coherent, serious, important and worthy of respect in a democratic society.
Maistry was a senior broadcast journalist working for the BBC. He had been a journalist for 30 years and worked for the BBC for 14 years. Maistry was dismissed and claimed that his dismissal was a result of the BBC discriminating against his values on being 'straight and up front' and promoting cultural interchange, citizenship and social cohesion. The BBC however, argued that he was dismissed after a lengthy, internal capability process.
At a pre-hearing review, to determine whether his claims of unfair dismissal and victimisation could proceed to a full hearing, the Employment Judge found that his belief in the 'higher purpose of journalism' was protected as a philosophical belief because it met the criteria set out in the case of Grainger v Nicholson.
It should be noted that this is a Tribunal judgment, and could be overturned on appeal. It should also be noted that Maistry had particularly strong views on integrity and had extremely high stoicism in his beliefs (indeed, that was necessary to meet the requirements of a philosophical belief as already set out). The Tribunal has not yet considered whether he received less favourable treatment because of his beliefs.
Comments for employers:
This is further indication of the extent to which the definition of 'philosophical belief' can be applied by the courts. Although it is possible that the decision is overturned on appeal, and also possible that it is found Maistry did not receive less favourable treatment because of his beliefs, it is important to note the breadth of beliefs being covered by this definition.
