Employment Law Case Update: Discriminatory Views Led to Fair Dismissal

When can a dismissal be considered fair if the decision is based on discriminatory views?  That is the question that was asked of the Employment Tribunal in the case of Ms Seyi Omooba v Michael Garret Associates Ltd, t/a Global Artists and Leicester Theatre Trust Ltd 2021.  Our Employment Law team explain more here about the circumstances of the case and when this could be possible, with some important factors for employers to consider.

In January 2019, Ms Omooba was hired by the Leicester Theatre to play Celie in a production of The Color Purple. Shortly after her casting was announced, another actor tweeted a Facebook post Ms Omooba had made in 2014, in which she said “I do not believe you can be born gay, and I do not believe homosexuality is right.”. The tweet accused Ms Omooba of hypocrisy for playing Celie - a lesbian character.

The tweet quickly gained traction and the theatre faced criticism for casting Ms Omooba. Its chief executive officer, Mr Stafford, asked Ms Omooba whether her views had changed since writing the Facebook post. She responded that they had not.

Meanwhile, other members of the play’s cast and production team expressed concerns about working with her. The play’s director felt it would not be possible to create “a safe, non-judgemental, open working environment” with Ms Omooba in the role. There were concerns Ms Omooba’s views would make it hard for the audience to connect with her on stage, that the play would attract disruptive protests, low ticket sales and boycotts from LGBTQ groups. 

Faced with mounting public pressure, the theatre terminated Ms Omooba’s employment in March 2019. Global Artists terminated its agency contract with Ms Omooba a couple days later.

Ms Omooba brought a claim against the theatre for direct and indirect discrimination based on religion or belief.

The Employment Tribunal (ET) found that while Ms Omooba’s beliefs regarding homosexuality were protected under the Equality Act 2010, she was dismissed not because of her views on homosexuality, but because her casting posed a threat to the success of the play and reputation of the theatre. The ET reasoned that had Ms Omooba remained in the role, there was a “real possibility that the production would have had to be cancelled in the face of a building storm of protest”. Judge Goodman concluded that “while the situation would not have arisen but for the expression of her belief, it was the effect of the adverse publicity from its retweet, without modification or explanation, on the cohesion of the cast, the audience’s reception, the reputation of the producers and ‘the good standing and commercial success’ of the production, that were the reasons why she was dismissed”. Her discrimination claim therefore could not succeed.

Ms Omooba has indicated she will appeal the decision.

This case demonstrates the difficulty employers may face when an employee holds controversial religious beliefs. While this case is not binding on future tribunal decisions, it does indicate that the ET may find some controversial and even offensive beliefs are protected under the Equality Act. In this case an employer will not be able to fairly dismiss the employee solely on the basis that they hold such beliefs, but if they can show that the employee’s continued employment is harming the business, they may be able to rely on this reason to fairly dismiss.

If you have any questions regarding this article, you can call our Employment team today on 023 8071 7717 or email employment@warnergoodman.co.uk.

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ENDS

This is for information purposes only and is no substitute for, and should not be interpreted as, legal advice.  All content was correct at the time of publishing and we cannot be held responsible for any changes that may invalidate this article.