Claimant v Respondent — 2021

At the preliminary hearing on 26 November 2021, with further chambers consideration on 8 December 2021, the tribunal considered whether the claimant's asserted belief fell within section 10 of the Equality Act 2010 for the purposes of her religion or belief discrimination complaint. The claimant described the belief as a fear of catching Covid-19 and a need to protect herself and others. The respondent did not dispute, for this preliminary issue, that she genuinely held that concern.

Employment Judge Leach applied the Nicholson criteria and referred to Nicholson, McClintock, Campbell and Cosans, and Williamson. The tribunal accepted that the claimant's concern was genuine, intelligible, serious and important, and that it was not disputed that it was worthy of respect in a democratic society. However, it found that the claimant's fear was a reaction to a threat of physical harm and a view about how to reduce that risk, rather than a belief for the purposes of section 10.

The tribunal also held that the claimed belief was too tied to the claimant's own circumstances and her steps to protect herself and, principally, her partner, so it did not satisfy the requirement that the belief concern a weighty and substantial aspect of human life and behaviour in the relevant sense. The judgment therefore concluded that the claimed belief did not meet the five Nicholson criteria and was not a philosophical belief within section 10(2) Equality Act 2010. No remedy was awarded in this judgment.