Fair Employment (School Teachers) Bill - Call for Views

Overview

The Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 outlaws discrimination on the grounds of religious belief and political opinion in a number of areas including employment.

Article 71 of the Order exempts school teachers from the legislation. The reason for this is to enable certain schools to maintain a religious ethos.

The Bill aims to remove the exemption for school teachers from the Order.

Why your views matter

The effect of this would be that schools employing teachers could not discriminate on the grounds of religious belief.

This would have an impact on schools where aspects of religious observance, such as sacraments, are taught in school. This may also affect schools that need to discriminate to ensure a religious balance, such as integrated schools.

What happens next

The Committee will consider all evidence gathered.  Their discussions and resultant outcomes can be followed though the home page of the Committee for the Executive Office