Can religious employees refuse to work with lesbian, gay or bisexual employees?
No. The regulations are intended to protect people from discrimination, not to facilitate it. Managers who complied with this refusal could leave themselves open to challenge of harassment by lesbian, gay or bisexual employees. The case would be the same if a lesbian, gay or bisexual employee refused to work with a religious colleague because of their doctrinal views on lesbians, gay men or bisexuals. Reasonable employers will wish to try to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs where possible within the law, but they are no required to accommodate these beliefs at all costs. A key principle in the legislation was reinforced in the case of Ladele v The London Borough of Islington (see Advisory Bulletin 547), which is that one group’s rights do not “trump” another’s. Where refusal to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs results in indirect discrimination, the question will turn to whether this refusal by the employer is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. F
