Religion and Belief Discrimination in Employment – the EU law

The Employment Equality Directive1 introduced in 2000 requires all Member States to protect against discrimination on grounds of religion and belief in employment, occupation and vocational training.This report provides an overview of the provisions on religion and belief and examines the approach taken to implementation by Member States.The report also identifies some of the problematic legal issues which are likely to arise, and considers what should be the proper scope of protection against discrimination on grounds of religion and belief. The complexity of this question comes from the fact that while Europe is committed to upholding religious freedom, it is equally committed to equality and other fundamental freedoms. At times these rights are complementary, with protection against religious discrimination enabling full enjoyment of religious freedom; in other respects, the rights are in tension, with religious groups failing to recognise equality rights or the rights of those outside the religious group.

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