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22 March 2019 / Charles Pigott
Issue: 7833 / Categories: Features , Employment , Discrimination
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Keeping the faith

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Charles Pigott reports on defining the limits of religious discrimination
  • The recent decision from the Employment Appeal Tribunal involving a worker at a Jewish nursery addresses some difficult issues about the scope the of Equality Act’s protection against discrimination because of religion or belief.

In Gan Menachem Hendon Ltd v De Groen UKEAT/0059/18 the EAT was asked to decide an appeal arising from the dismissal of Zelda de Groen from her job as a teacher at the Gan Menachem Kindergarten.

Dispute

The dispute revolved around a meeting between Ms De Groen and two female members of the Kindergarten’s management, convened to discuss reports that she was living with her boyfriend. This had become known to a number of the parents and was considered to be incompatible with the kindergarten’s ethos, given that it was affiliated with the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement, which espouses strict orthodox Jewish values.

Ms De Groen appears to have had, at least at that time, what could be regarded as a troubled relationship with Orthodox

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