Law digest: 7 November 2008

Reg 5(1)(b) of the Employment Equality (Religion and Belief) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2828) will be breached not only where an employee is harassed on the grounds that he holds certain religious or other relevant beliefs but also where he is harassed because someone else holds certain religious or other beliefs. The circumstances need not be confined to those where an employee has been instructed to act in a discriminatory fashion. To use an employee in any manner in the implementation of a discriminatory policy is caught if the effect on the employee falls within any of the descriptions set out in reg 5(1)(b).