Equality Bill

My Lords, these amendments deal with the requirements which an employer with a religious ethos may demand of his employees. Clearly, the Bill does not intend that an employer with a religious ethos should be able to require that all employees, irrespective of the job for which they are employed, must be adherents of the employers’ religion. It does, however, provide for certain exceptions. It is clear that the Government’s amendments in this group are intended to set out clearly that an employer may not insist on such a requirement for most jobs, only for those that relate directly to the purposes of organised religion. Amendment 99A sets this out very clearly, and I support it; it clarifies wording that is not as clear as some of us would like. I oppose Amendments 98 and 99. The Bill allows an employer with a religious ethos to employ people with protected characteristics only if it is, ""a proportionate means of complying with the doctrines of the religion"," or, ""a proportionate means of avoiding conflict with … a significant number of the religion’s followers"." The amendments, however, seek to remove the words "proportionate means". This is not acceptable. It is an attempt to interfere with the rights of others, which the Bill intends to protect. It is unfair, unjust, and more likely to lead to conflict than anything else. Do the movers of the Bill really see any virtue in being disproportionate? Of course not. The Government have attempted to meet concerns that have been voiced by certain religious groups, and I therefore hope that they will insist on maintaining the wording.