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McFarlane v Relate Avon Limited

Court of Appeal: Laws LJ, April 2010 Unfair dismissal – counsellor - same-sex couples – religious objection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 August 2010

Ruth Arlow  and
Will Adam
Ruth Arlow
Affiliation:
Barrister, Deputy Chancellor of the Dioceses of Chichester and Norwich
Will Adam
Affiliation:
Rector of Girton, Ely Diocesan Ecumenical Officer
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Abstract

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Type
Case Notes
Information
Ecclesiastical Law Journal , Volume 12 , Issue 3 , September 2010 , pp. 408
Copyright
Copyright © Ecclesiastical Law Society 2010

McFarlane was employed by Relate Avon Limited as a relationship counsellor. He was a Christian and sought exemption from any obligation to counsel same-sex couples on sexual matters as he believed that he should do nothing to condone same-sex sexual activity. This was refused and he was dismissed for gross misconduct. The Employment Tribunal rejected his claims for unfair dismissal and religious discrimination, a decision upheld by the Employment Appeal Tribunal. McFarlane sought permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. Laws LJ stated that the facts of this case were not sensibly distinguishable from the decision of the Court of Appeal in Islington Borough Council v Ladele [2009] EWCA Civ 1357, [2010] IRLR 211 and refused the application. [RA]

References

A Comment on this case by Dr Russell Sandberg appears on page 361 of this issue.