The problem
The Grand, a city-centre hotel with conference facilities, takes a booking for a sales conference. Management later discovers that the group attending the conference is affiliated to a mosque associated with an extremist Muslim cleric. The general manager wants to cancel for fear that the event will attract adverse publicity.
The law
The Equality Act 2006 will make it unlawful to discriminate on the ground of religion or belief when providing goods and services.
These rules expressly apply to the provision of accommodation in a hotel, boarding house or similar establishment, and would also prevent services being refused on the grounds that the intending clients were of a particular religion or subscribed to a particular belief system.
It would also be unlawful if services were offered on more onerous terms for the same reason. Advertising services in a manner that indicates an intention to discriminate will also be outlawed, as will giving instructions to staff or inducing them to discriminate.
However, the act does not define in any clear way the meaning of religion. A lack of religion is expressly covered, so no discrimination against atheists will be permitted. As for belief, all it says is that this refers to any religious or other philosophical belief.
Expert advice
The concerns the Grand has are clearly capable of being viewed as anti-Islamic religious discrimination. There may also be an issue of ordinary contract law if the terms on which the event was booked do not include a contractual right to cancel.
However, even if such a term did exist in the booking conditions, it would be ineffective to permit the cancellation if the real reason were discriminatory.
If a claim were brought, the court would investigate the reasons for the cancellation. The defence put forward might be that the hotel was afraid of the event getting out of hand and of some form of public disturbance.
All such arguments would need to be thoroughly backed up by evidence. Cogent reasons would have to be given for the hotel to succeed.
The Equality Act provides for a form to be prescribed that will permit a potential claimant to question the hotel and seek reasons for a cancellation. The answers given will be admissible as evidence in any subsequent proceedings, and great care should be exercised when compiling replies to such enquiries, and advice obtained at that stage.
An additional risk will exist if an employee acts on his or her initiative. The employer of the general manager would be liable for any discriminatory act, as well as the general manager himself.
To escape this liability, the employer would have to show that it had done everything that was reasonably practicable to prevent the discrimination. This would require at least that appropriate policies be in place, the provision of training courses, and evidence that policies were or would be enforced through the disciplinary system.
These provisions are expected to become law on 1 October 2006.
Check list
- Ensure booking conditions are compatible with the new law.
- Give clear instructions to staff about the new obligations.
- Cover the new rules in training schemes and keep records of training.
- Amend the disciplinary code if necessary.
- Cancel events only after adequate review.
- Enable staff to get information about religions and religious organisations.
Beware!
If the event were cancelled due to religious discrimination, there could be a claim made against the hotel in the county court for uncapped damages, including damages for injury to feelings.
If employees were required to discriminate, they could resign and claim unfair dismissal in a tribunal.
Contacts
Stephen Levinson
stephen.levinson@manches.com
020 7872 8619
Commission for Racial Equality
www.cre.gov.uk
020 7939 0000
Interfaith Network for the UK
www.interfaith.org
INFORM
www.inform.ac/infmainhtml
020 7955 7654
Home Office, Equality and Diversity Unit
www.homeoffice.gov.uk
020 7035 4848