Political belief
[ch 7: page 205]The EA 10 was not originally intended to protect political beliefs, but some political beliefs are protected as “philosophical beliefs”. In GMB v Henderson [2015] UKEAT/0073/14/DM, the EAT confirmed that philosophical beliefs deserve the same protection under equality laws as religious beliefs. In that case, the EAT said that a belief in left-wing democratic socialism can be protected as a philosophical belief.
Northern Ireland has had laws in place protecting people against workplace discrimination based on their political beliefs for many years. These laws are enforced by the Fair Employment Tribunal.
See also unfair dismissal for political belief, Chapter 10, page 341.