I have not been promoted because of my religion. What can I do?

It is unlawful to refuse you promotion because of your religion or belief. This would be direct discrimination, unless the job you have applied for needs to be done by someone with a particular religion or belief. This is called an “occupational requirement” and allows an employer in limited circumstances to appoint someone who holds a particular religion or belief, where it can be justified.Occupational requirements are narrowly interpreted. Your employer can only refuse to promote you because of your religion if the nature of your role requires you to hold a particular religious belief or levels of religious knowledge and/or commitment. An example might be where you are applying for promotion to a leadership role in an organisation that had a strong religious ethos.

When inviting candidates to apply for the promotion, your employer should have spelled out clearly that the successful candidate needed to demonstrate a particular religious belief. There is guidance on this in the Equality and Human Rights Commission Statutory Code of Practice (PDF).

If you suspect you have been turned down for promotion because of your religious beliefs (or lack of belief), you may want to write to your employer to ask why. This may help you decide whether to take any further steps. If you want to discuss your concerns, you can call the government-funded Equality Advisory and Support Service, or the Acas helpline. Both resources are free.

You may decide to bring an employment tribunal claim. The deadline for bringing such claims is very short – just three months from the date that you were refused promotion – and is strictly enforced.

The first step in bringing any claim is to submit an Acas early conciliation notification form to Acas.