An attempt by the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) to repeal the law allowing schools to discriminate on the grounds of religion when recruiting teachers has failed after both Sinn Fein and the SDLP acted to oppose the move. The ability of schools to discriminate in this way is known as the ‘teacher exception’, which the UUP claims is responsible for leaving as many as 17,000 teachers in Northern Ireland vulnerable under the law to discrimination on the basis of their religious or non-religious beliefs. The British Humanist Association (BHA), which has long campaigned in opposition to the legal right of religious schools to religiously discriminate against teachers, has expressed its disappointment that this latest attempt to repeal the law in Northern Ireland has failed.
The ‘teacher exception’ is contained within Article 71 of the Fair Employment and Treatment Order 1998, and serves to disapply the equality and anti-discrimination provisions contained within the Order to the employment of teachers in schools. The UUP had sought to attach an amendment to the Employment Bill, currently at further consideration stage in the Assembly, to repeal the article, but members from both Sinn Fein and the SDLP swiftly moved to introduce a petition of concern, which in effect acts as a veto on proposed legislation by requiring cross-community support and a weighted majority of 60% of members voting.
Speaking after the petition of concern was tabled, UUP Education Spokesperson Sandra Overend expressed her party’s concern that teachers are being ‘kept effectively segregated’ even when the important Shared Education Bill is passing through the Assembly, and stated that the failure of a ‘move to break down an unnecessary barrier in education’ was both ‘a shame and disgrace’. In response both Sinn Fein and the SDLP highlighted the fact that only one day’s notice had been given of the amendment, with Sinn Fein’s education spokesperson stating that his party would not support ‘rushed amendments in relation to equality and employment legislation’, while the SDLP spokesperson argued that reforms which would ‘fundamentally change teacher recruitment’ should not be undertaken through amendments ‘tacked onto the end’ of other legislation.
In the past a consensus on this issue has looked likely to emerge, and a debate in the Assembly in 2013 saw the UUP, Sinn Fein, Democratic Unionist Party, and Alliance Party all support the repealing of the law, with the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS), the representative body representing state-funded Catholic schools in Northern Ireland, adopting a similar position. However, attempts at introducing reform have stalled since then, with this recent defeat being the latest example.
Northern Ireland is not alone in permitting this kind of religious discrimination. An exception to the Equality Act 2010 allows ‘faith’ schools in England and Wales, and denominational schools in Scotland, to select staff on the basis of their beliefs, with most of these schools able to do so for all teaching staff regardless of their role. This very likely fails to comply with the European Employment Directive, which only permits such religious discrimination where there is a genuine occupational requirement, although an exemption is written into the Directive which means that it does not apply in Northern Ireland.
Boyd Sleator of Northern Ireland Humanists said, ‘We’re naturally disappointed that this amendment has failed to receive the agreement of the Assembly, especially at a time when significant reforms are being considered to make Northern Ireland’s education system more open and inclusive. The continued existence of the “teacher exception” is widely recognised as an unhelpful barrier to this reform, not least by the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools which describes it as “abhorrent”. Given the recent moves towards greater inclusivity in Northern Ireland we certainly hope that in time a consensus can be reached on this issue, and we will continue to campaign both in Northern Ireland and in the rest of the UK to ensure that the right of teachers to equal treatment and respect is protected no matter what their religious or non-religious convictions.’
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For further information or comment please contact British Humanist Association Education Campaigner Jay Harman on jay@humanists.uk or 020 7324 3078.
Read the BHA’s news item from May 2013 ‘Northern Ireland’s Catholic schools call for end to faith-based school employment laws’: https://humanists.uk/2013/05/31/northern-irelands-catholic-schools-call-for-end-to-faith-based-school-employment-laws/
Read more about the BHA’s campaigns work on ‘faith’ schools: http://humanists.uk/campaigns/religion-and-schools/faith-schools
Northern Ireland Humanists is the Northern Ireland section of the British Humanist Association. The British Humanist Association is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity. It promotes a secular state and equal treatment in law and policy of everyone, regardless of religion or belief.