Should a woman be allowed to wear the face veil?

The last few weeks and months have seen intense media debate on the issue of the right of women to wear the niqab, or face veil. Birmingham Metropolitan College, for example, recently introduced a ban on the wearing of a face veil, and then reversed their decision. I cannot possibly do justice to such a complex issue in a short article, but for what it’s worth, here are a few of my thoughts on the subject…

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Being Gay in Britain, tackling homophobia and transphobia in the workplace

Did you know that, despite significant progress in recent years to improve equality, lesbian, gay and bisexual people and transsexual people continue to expect to face discrimination in almost all walks of life? Are you aware that the TUC has launched a new guide for union reps on how to combat homophobia and transphobia in the workplace?

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Conflicting rights

Would your staff know what to say if another member of staff expresses an offensive opinion, but when challenged, claim that they have a right under equality law to express their philosophical belief? And what exactly constitutes a ‘philosophical belief’?

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Commission welcomes European Court of Human Rights ruling on religious discrimination cases

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has announced that it will work with employers and religious groups to help them interpret the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling on a series of cases involving religious freedom in the workplace. Four cases will be of practical interest to providers.

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EHRC plans religion or belief seminars

Freedom of religion, freedom to manifest your religion, and the right to be free from discrimination because of your religious beliefs are all fundamental human rights protected by UK law. But these rights can cause conflict with the rights of others – the right to equality and freedom from discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity, for example.

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