The law
The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations were passed by the Labour Government in 2003 in order to implement an EU Directive. The Regulations make it illegal to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation in relation to employment.
After lobbying by the Archbishops' Council of the Church of England and other religious groups, the Government created a "very narrow" exception to the Regulations. The exception operates where someone is being employed 'for the purposes of organised religion,' so that the employer (a church, mosque, synagogue etc.) can refuse to employ someone on the grounds of their sexual orientation if to so refuse is necessary in order to comply with the 'doctrines of the religion,' or in order to avoid conflicting with the 'strongly held religious beliefs of a significant number of the religion's followers.'
The classic case where the exception applies would be where a church advertise for a vicar or pastor, and want to turn down an application by an unrepentant practising homosexual, because that person's sexual behaviour is contrary to Biblical doctrine.
The judgment
The judgment of the Cardiff Employment Tribunal is notable for its lack of criticism of the Bishop's conduct in the case. In fact, it is clear from the evidence heard by the Tribunal that Anthony Priddis dealt with the situation with wisdom, sensitivity and grace. For this reason, the Tribunal unanimously threw out the allegations of harassment that Mr Reaney had made.
As was expected, the Tribunal reinforced the High Court's position that there is no difference between sexual "orientation" and sexual "behaviour" in the eyes of the law. It did not matter that the Bishop was not discriminating because Mr Reaney was attracted to men, but because of Mr Reaney's lifestyle as a sexually active homosexual. The Tribunal decided that on the face of it, Mr Reaney had been unlawfully discriminated against because he was a homosexual.
