What An Annoying Ruling
A reader from the comments of another post alerts us to this story:
In a significant decision today , a judge found Nicholson’s views on the environment were so deeply held that they were entitled to the same protection as religious convictions, and ruled that an employment tribunal should hear his claim that he was sacked because of his beliefs.
The judgment could open the door for people to take their employers to tribunals over their stance on a range of issues, from animal rights to feminism.
Earlier this year, Nicholson, 42, claimed that his beliefs had put him at odds with senior executives at his former employer Grainger, the UK’s largest listed residential property company. When he was made redundant in July last year, he launched his legal action.
He alleged that while the firm had good written policies on the environment it had refused to abide by them, and claimed that when he tried to encourage the company to become more responsible, he was obstructed by his bosses. Dickinson, in particular, had shown “contempt” for his beliefs, Nicholson told the employment appeal tribunal…
This is bad on so many levels. Not only will it fuel ludicrous lawsuits, but it will also become a new talking point on Sean Hannity etc. “Ha! First they threw out Al Gore’s documentary, and now the British courts agree that belief in global warming is a religion.” Argh.
