ABSTRACT
The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations came into force in December 2003, making it illegal for employers to discriminate against workers on the grounds of religion or belief. These regulations raised important new challenges for employers when trying to treat people fairly and without discrimination in the workplace. The regulations have been subsequently restated by the inclusion of religion and belief as one of the ‘relevant protected characteristics’ within the Equality Act 2010. This chapter reports on research commissioned by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) – and conducted by the National Centre for Social Research – which examined religion and belief challenges faced by employers and managers at a time when the 2003 regulations were being embedded. Following a brief discussion of the legal and research terrain in this area, the chapter outlines the main issues, challenges and solutions related to religion and belief discussed by employers and managers in the study. This is then followed by an exploration of other, more generic issues identified in terms of delivering equality and fairness in the workplace related to religion and belief. Although focused on religion and belief, the discussion of the practicalities of implementing equality and diversity measures is likely to have relevance to those concerned with introducing policies and practices in organisations across all the equality strands. Finally, the potential for conflict between the regulations relating to religion and belief and sexual orientation are raised as well as possible solutions to these issues. The chapter also illustrates the use of the research technique of a deliberative event to capture the views and experiences of managers and draw out potential solutions to challenges encountered.
