Non-Normative Gender and Sexual Identities in Schools: - Schools Out

NATIONAL UNION OF TEACHERS FEBRUARY 2007
Can an employer insist that a teacher must be of a particular sexual
orientation?
An employer may argue that an employee must be of a particular sexual
orientation if it can show that it is a genuine requirement of the post, which the
employer must justify as necessary. The NUT does not envisage that any
teaching post requires a teacher to be of a particular sexual orientation.
What about teachers in faith schools?
The Regulations allow employers with a religious ethos to claim that certain
jobs require the post holder to be of a particular sexual orientation.
The NUT challenged the Government on the legality of this exemption. The
judge gave a clear indication that the exemption was unlikely to apply to
teachers employed in faith schools. This was because the Regulation applies
to employment for purposes of an 'organised religion' rather than employment
for purposes of a 'religious organisation'. It was unlikely that a teacher,
employed in a faith school, would be employed for purposes of an 'organised
religion'.
The NUT believes that employers in faith schools, including Academies with a
religious character, cannot – in refusing to appoint, or treating a teacher less
favourably or dismissing a teacher – rely upon a teacher's sexual orientation
alone.
What steps should teachers take if they have been discriminated against
or harassed on the grounds of sexual orientation?
Members should inform their divisions if they have been discriminated against
or harassed on the grounds of sexual orientation.
Members will be advised on their statutory and contractual rights and
consideration will be given to whether a written grievance should be lodged,
followed, in some circumstances by a complaint to an Employment Tribunal.
A written statement of grievance must be submitted to the employer within
three months of the last act of discrimination or harassment.
GUIDANCE TO MEMBERS
3
SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION