Member Article

Tipster: A half brick is like a half truth both travel twice as far

The Tipster remembers this little puzzler coming his way at a school examination. The first thought was-am I in the right exam room but on further consideration he recognised it as a philosophy question and managed to scrape together an answer.

Now-under legislation a person is protected from discrimination on the grounds of their religion/philosophical belief in the workplace-but what is a philosophical belief? The guidance is below:

- be genuinely held;

- be a belief and not an opinion or viewpoint based on the present state of information available;

- be a belief as to a weighty and substantial aspect of human life and behaviour;

- attain a certain level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance; and

- be worthy of respect in a democratic society, be not incompatible with human dignity and not conflict with the fundamental rights of others.

Helpful? Well-it has led to a recent interesting (and topical) case as to whether the wearing of a poppy is a philosophical belief. The Claimant believed it was and, the prevention of wearing one was therefore a detriment. The courts disagreed and whilst respecting the importance of the poppy –held it was an opinion rather than a philosophical belief. However in the past, a commitment to environmental issues and to fox hunting have been deemed to be philosophical beliefs! So what is the employer to do? ??Well, of course people of all beliefs and views should be respected in the workplace but sometimes an employer may find the expression of that belief very difficult to allow.

In the words of those philosophers Spandau Ballet-communication can let us down. So, when an issue arises employers should listen carefully and respectfully to the individual and try work towards an agreed solution. Sometimes unpopular decisions need to be made but they should only be done after some careful…reflection. Now….. about that half brick.

For further information about this tip or to learn more about Crutes’ services contact David Gibson on 0191 233 9762.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by David Gibson .