Archbishop Peter Smith has welcomed a survey conducted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to seek people’s views on their experiences of religion and belief in the workplace and as the recipients of services.
Archbishop Peter said:
“I am very glad that in recent months the Equality and Human Rights Commission has decided to take a closer interest in religious freedom with the aim of ensuring that there are laws in place that protect everyone’s right to be treated with fairness, dignity and respect. There are both opportunities and challenges created by the framework of equality laws, and I welcome the EHRC’s decision to consult widely amongst religious groups to gather experiences, both positive and negative. I encourage Catholics, especially those who may have a relevant experience or perspective to offer, to take the time to fill in this survey in order to assist the Commission.”’
The survey seeks information from the public on how their religion or belief, or that of other people, has affected their experiences in the workplace or the services received as part of daily life. This includes how their impact on employers and managers. Whether these experiences are good or bad, the EHRC want to gather as much information as they can from employees, service users, employers, service providers, trade unions, legal advisors and religion or belief groups so that they can assess how a person’s religion or belief, or lack of it, is taken into account at work and when using services.
This major call for evidence is part of a three year programme to strengthen understanding of religion or belief in public life, to improve knowledge of what happens in practice and to make sure that the laws which are in place to protect everyone’s right to be treated with fairness, dignity and respect are effective.
The survey can be found here:
