In Mackereth v. Department for Work and Pensions, (EAT, June 29, 2022), Britain's Employment Appeal Tribunal rejected a Christian doctor's claim that the policy of his government agency employer requiring him, as a disability benefits assessor, to refer to transgender claimants by their preferred pronoun amounted to illegal discrimination and harassment. While disagreeing with some of the conclusions of the Employment Tribunal (ET) below, the 61-page opinion which turns on doctrines developed under Britain's Equality Act, accepts the ultimate conclusion of the ET. The Appellate decision is summarized by an article in Personnel Today which says in part:
Mackereth’s beliefs are based on what the bible says in Genesis 1:27; that we are born male and female and that a person cannot change their sex or gender. This belief conflicted with DWP’s policies....
...[T]he EAT ruled that Mackereth’s belief is protected under the Equality Act and Human Rights Act. Nevertheless, the judgment notes his belief could be deemed offensive....
... Justice Eady stated that the employment tribunal had properly taken account of the context in which Mackereth had expressed his beliefs and had carefully evaluated DWP’s concerns with them being expressed in his role.
The judgment says: “Given the particular context, it could not be said that the ET had erred in finding the measures adopted by the respondents were necessary and proportionate to meet a legitimate focus on the needs of potentially vulnerable service users, and on the risks to those individuals and, in consequence, to the respondents.
