There are certain situations when an employer or private educational institution can insist on employing or educating someone of a particular religion or belief, sharing its ethos.
There may be situations where the nature of a particular job and the nature of the organisation/employer requires a person of a particular belief. In such a case an employer can choose a person of the relevant belief for that position. This also applies to private educational institutions where belief is an integral part of the education allowing them to impose in their internal rules certain ritual and religious practices on pupils, which de facto restrict applicants to pupils who share that faith.
In these exceptional situations, choosing to employ a person of a certain belief, or requiring that person to respect certain religious principles will not be considered discriminatory.
Indeed, EU law allows a difference of treatment based on a person’s religion or belief to be made in the case of occupational activities within churches and other public or private organisations whose ethos is based on religion or belief. However, this is possible only if the person’s religion or belief constitutes a genuine, legitimate and justified occupational requirement due to the nature of the organisation’s activities or of the context in which they are carried out. This exception must also comply with the principle of proportionality, i.e., it must be appropriate and not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the aim pursued.
Sufficient reasons
To apply this exception, the employer or private educational institution must show that an individual really needs to share the organisation’s ethos or core values to do the job or to receive an education in that particular school. This means that they have to show that the requirement is being applied in order to comply with the doctrines or principles of the religion or belief, or to avoid conflicting with the strongly held beliefs of a significant number of the people who follow that religion or belief. Such conflict needs to be objective. It is not enough to indicate that people working for the company or organisation just don’t like those belonging to other religions or with different beliefs.
Indeed, there must be an objective and direct link between the professional requirement imposed by the employer and the activity concerned. This link can arise from the nature of that activity (for example when the job contributes to the religion’s mission or proclamation) or from the conditions under which the activity is carried out (such as the need to ensure a credible presentation of the church to the outside world).
Therefore, the reasons for choosing a person of particular religion or with different beliefs need to be specific to the position for which they are applying.
example A Catholic church could require a new priest to be a Catholic man who is not married. However, that same reasoning would not justify hiring only males for a cleaner’s position.
This exception can also justify requiring the employee to respect certain religious principles and refrain from certain activities, in order to respect the organisation’s ethos.
example Dismissing an employee of the Mormon Church for adultery can be justified on the grounds of ethos. Having regard to the employee’s high work position in the organisation and the importance of absolute fidelity to one’s spouse in this religion, the dismissal was deemed necessary to preserve the Church’s credibility.
example Dismissing a teacher from a private catholic school for having remarried after a divorce can be justified on the grounds of ethos. In this case, the teacher’s religious convictions had been incorporated into the employment contract of which it had become an essential and determining part.
Read more about discrimination in employment or education, and discrimination on the basis of religion or beliefs.