In McClung v Doosan Babcock an Employment Tribunal decided that supporting a football club cannot be a protected religious or philosophical belief.
In this article, Employment Partner Paul Burton breaks down the reason for this decision, and provides advice for employers when tackling similar issues.
McClung v Doosan Babcock
Mr McClung has supported Rangers football club for decades. He joined Doosan Babcock as a subcontractor in January 2019, but they stopped using him only six months later.
He then proceeded to make claims to the employment tribunal for automatic unfair dismissal and discrimination based on his ‘belief’ in supporting the football club, arguing that he had been dismissed due to his manager being a Celtic fan (Rangers’ bitter rivals).
Did his support constitute a protected belief?
He asserted that his support for Rangers was so strong, a ‘way of life’, that it should be protected as a belief. He used the analogy of Christians going to church with reference to him attending Rangers matches every weekend.
The employment tribunal did not agree with Mr McClung. They applied the five criteria, set down in the case of Grainger Plc v Nicholson¸ to decide if the support of Rangers was a protected belief.
In the full article, Paul sets out the criteria for a protected belief and provides advice for employers. Click here to read it.