Paul McGowan is Principal Solicitor at specialist employment law firm, Collingwood Legal. Paul considers a recent discrimination case concerning a job applicant's Christian beliefs.
Job applicants are protected from discrimination during their application and the arrangements for deciding who to offer employment. A recent case highlights some of the risks to employers in withdrawing job offers.
Ngole v Touchstone Leeds
Mr Ngole applied for a discharge mental health support worker position at Touchstone Leeds (“the Respondent”). Mr Ngole disclosed his Christian faith during the application process. Having performed well in his interview, he was offered employment (subject to DBS checks and references). The Respondent was not satisfied with his factual references so conducted an internet search of Mr Ngole’s name. This revealed articles concerning Mr Ngole losing his place on a course at Sheffield University over “anti-gay remarks” (but the Respondent had not seen Mr Ngole’s successful legal action challenging this decision). The Respondent withdrew its job offer based on information which, in its view, did not align with its values concerning its alliance with the LGBTQI community. Mr Ngole challenged this decision, and the Respondent replied by inviting him to a meeting so assurances could be provided that his role wouldn’t be compromised by his views. Mr Ngole confirmed he would not discriminate against anyone but said that he should not be asked to participate “in the promotion of homosexual rights”. Following this meeting, the Respondent chose not to reinstate the job offer.
One component of Mr Ngole’s claims was that the decisions to withdraw his job offer and not to reinstate it was unlawful discrimination resulting from his religious beliefs. The Employment Tribunal (“ET”) concluded he was unlawfully discriminated against when his original offer was withdrawn as this was materially influenced by his religious beliefs. The ET rejected the claim in respect of the refusal to reinstate the job offer. It concluded that following the second interview the conclusion that the Respondent had not received the necessary assurances was proportionate and that this aspect of his discrimination claim must fail. The second interview was described as “the least intrusive way of proceeding” to balance Mr Ngole’s rights against the risk to service users from encountering these beliefs. Therefore, it was decided that the refusal to reinstate the job offer was due to the objectionable manifestation of the belief and was permissible.
What should employers note from this case?
Mr Ngole has indicated he will appeal the ET’s findings in the Respondent’s favour, but the ET’s findings regarding why the initial rescission of the job offer was discriminatory are notable for employers.
The ET concluded that rescinding the job offer would obviously have a negative impact on Mr Ngole. The Respondent was, however, also concerned about the impact of Mr Ngole’s beliefs on the provision of their services, but the ET noted that rather than withdraw the offer, the Respondent could have provided Mr Ngole with the opportunity to provide the reassurances it needed. There was little prospect of any service users coming across Mr Ngole as he was not engaged yet so giving him this opportunity was a less intrusive way of seeking to resolve their concerns. The ET appears to have concluded that while the Respondent did give Mr Ngole this opportunity at the second interview, it was not reasonable to withdraw the job offer also.
The Equality Act 2010 protects not only religious beliefs but also philosophical beliefs and this can lead to conflicts between different types of protected rights under the law. Previous cases in the ET and appeal courts have made clear that when an employer becomes aware of beliefs which may run contrary to their values, they should consider how to act proportionately with reference to the job description and the risks of a conflict between the employee’s belief and the employee’s values.
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