The UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights is running an inquiry into human rights at work. The Committee is currently holding evidence sessions and is due to report later this year.

The Catholic and Evangelical groups are anxious that the “freedom of thought, conscience and religion” part of the inquiry may be left unnoticed. They have requested a stand-alone evidence session on religious freedom at work to inform the final report and recommendations to the Government. They have emphasized in their letter that “too many Christians are unable to bring their whole selves to work, and in some cases face disadvantage or discrimination because of their faith, despite laws that should prevent this from happening.” They have prompted the cross-party Committee of MPs and peers to “shine a light on these concerns and put forward recommendations for improvement.”

According to Catholic Union Director, Nigel Parker: “Sadly we know it is becoming increasingly difficult to be a faithful Catholic in many workplaces in this country. Our survey on religion in the workplace earlier this year found that almost one in three responders had experienced disadvantage at work because of their faith, with nearly half of people saying they did not feel able to talk about their faith openly with colleagues. Our concerns are shared by people from other denominations and other faiths as well. This joint letter shows the strengthen of feeling about this matter. We strongly hope that the Committee will take these concerns seriously.”

Simon Calvert, the Christian Institute Deputy Director, said: “Religion has long been the Cinderella strand of discrimination law. Christians who take their faith seriously can feel overlooked, or even marginalised, by the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion industry. Many employers show little interest in seeking to understand the challenges faced in the workplace by devoutly Catholic or evangelical staff. I hope the Joint Committee on Human Rights will give a voice to these people”.

According to Evangelical Alliance Director of Advocacy, Danny Webster: “It is essential that Christians, and people of other faiths, are able to bring their whole selves to work. Someone’s faith is not an optional extra that can be disregarded or ignored but an integral part of their lives. We encourage the Joint Committee on Human Rights to make the role of faith in the work place a central part of their inquiry into human rights at work”.

Source: https://premierchristian.news/