No protection for belief that all people should be treated equally, regardless of colour or culture

In London Ambulance Service NHS Trust v Garrett [2026] EAT 77 the employment appeal tribunal overturned the employment tribunal’s majority decision that the employee had been directly discriminated against on the basis of his philosophical beliefs.

At the hearing below, the employment tribunal had found that the employee’s rejection of the existence of ‘systemic racism’ was a manifestation of his protected philosophical belief that all people should be treated equally regardless of colour or culture.

The EAT rejected that conclusion and reasoned that a person holding the normative belief (that all people should be treated equally regardless of colour or culture) could equally believe that ‘systemic racism’ does exist.

It follows that simply expressing the view that ‘systemic racism’ does not exist cannot be a manifestation of the belief that all people should be treated equally regardless of colour or culture.

The EAT further found, amongst other things, that the employment tribunal failed to engage with the employer’s non-discriminatory explanations (for subjecting the employee to disciplinary proceedings following incidents in January and June 2020).

Accordingly, the employment tribunal’s decisions upholding the complaints and awarding £3,750 for injury to feelings were quashed.