Equality and Human Rights Commission

In very limited circumstances, an employer can claim that a certain religion or belief is necessary for a role. In other words, the religion or belief is considered to be a genuine occupational requirement. Similar exceptions apply to other grounds for discrimination, such as race and gender.

Example 1: Halal butcher

If a butcher has to prepare halal meat (meat that has been prepared in a way that is consistent with the Muslim faith), it might be justified to insist that this role is performed by a Muslim.

Example 2: Religious organisations

An organisation whose work is based on a specific religion or belief may be able to use this rule. A Catholic care home might be able to show that its carers should be Catholic because their work will involve them meeting a client’s spiritual needs. But they might not be able to make the same claim for their reception staff, who do not need to provide spiritual leadership or support the clients.

Applicants may not agree that such a rule is appropriate or fair for a particular job. If so, they can still claim they have been unlawfully discriminated against. The employer would need to be able to explain and justify the rule.