Here's The Real Discrimination
For most local authorities discrimination is a scary word. It’s a minefield for today’s ultra-woke. tofu munching, Guardian reading council officials, and it now seems to be extending to our local plod.
The Equality Act 2010
So this is catch-all act of Parliament, seeks to legally protect people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society, by identifying nine protected characteristics:
age
gender reassignment
being married or in a civil partnership
being pregnant or on maternity leave
disability
race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
religion or belief
sex
sexual orientation
In 2011 the government added two additional provisions relating to positive action in regard to recruitment and promotion and equality in the public sector
Public bodies have to consider all individuals when carrying out their day-to-day work – in shaping policy, in delivering services and in relation to their own employees.
It also requires that public bodies have due regard to the need to:
eliminate discrimination
advance equality of opportunity
foster good relations between different people when carrying out their activities
But of course, it can be used to prevent local authorities from carrying out their legal obligations, by claiming that the council in question is failing to meet the obligations of the Equality Act, and is guilty of discrimination, here’s an example of just that:
And unsurprisingly Buckles Solicitors LLP are the legal representatives of the Chelmsford Muslim Society.
How you can be discriminated against
Discrimination can come in one of the following forms:
Direct Discrimination
Treating someone with a protected characteristic less favourably than others, here’s an example:
Free parking for Muslims, is discrimination against non Muslims based on religion or a belief.
Indirect Discrimination
Putting rules or arrangements in place that apply to everyone, but that put someone with a protected characteristic at an unfair disadvantage. Here’s an example:
So what exactly are the centre’s ethos, vision and values. It does rather sound like a set of secret cultural rules imposed by the Muslim owners, which would be discrimination against a religion or belief. Pretty odd for a facility that claims to be a community centre for everyone, that used one of the mystery rules to turn away a regular booking for a Zumba class.
Harassment
Unwanted behaviour linked to a protected characteristic that violates someone’s dignity or creates an offensive environment for them, and here’s an example:
The homophobic views of the Head Imam, creates an offensive environment for the LBGTQ+ community at Hamptons, and constitutes discrimination based on sexual orientation,
Victimisation
Treating someone unfairly because they’ve complained about discrimination or harassment. And you only have to think back to Ramadan this year, when the mosque parking marshals acted illegally to stop and control the flow of traffic on the public highway, and were incredibly rude, aggressive and dismissive of local residents who dared to challenge them.
In relation to the shameless claims of discrimination made by the Chelmsford Muslim Society, an old adage springs to mind: