A devout Christian who
lost her job after refusing to work on Sunday is mounting a fresh court appeal
this week.
Celestina
Mba, 58, lost a previous case after a judge ruled that not all Christians
observed the Sabbath as religious. But she is now taking her case to the Court
of Appeal and if successful could establish the right of Christians to refuse
to work on a Sunday.
Mba,
a children's care worker, will argue that every employer has a duty to
'reasonably accommodate' religious beliefs in the workplace. The legal
challenge comes after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Britain had
failed to protect the freedom of Nadia Eweida, a British Airways employee who
was suspended after refusing to remove a cross at work.Mba's lawyer, Paul
Diamond, is expected to argue that the ruling in Eweida's favour extends to
religious days as well as items of clothing.
Under
the new ruling the baptist mother-of-three only has to prove that she herself
holds the belief, not that it is a general rule which all Christians observe.
Shopworkers
are already guaranteed the right to refuse to work Sundays, but other
businesses must prove a legitimate need to force people to work.
If
the court rules in Mba's favour it could also grant Muslims the right to take
Friday off, and Jews to be excused on Friday and Saturday.If successful,
campaigners hope the Court of Appeal ruling would mark a rare victory for Christian
causes in British courts Mba, who is now working a new job in south west London
which allows her to take Sundays off, quit her previous job in 2010 after a row
broke out.
Between
2007 when she was first employed and 2008 Mba claims her employers, Brightwell
children's home, were happy to accommodate her request after she mentioned it
at her interview.
Mba's
case has be launched after Nadia Eweida won her case in the European Court of
Human Rights over the right to wear a cross at work Mba's case has be launched
after Nadia Eweida won her case in the European Court of Human Rights over the
right to wear a cross at work. However in 2008 she was told she would have to
work, and began getting other staff members to cover for her, until she was
called to a disciplinary hearing in 2010 after which she left.
During
the case she said: 'I was willing to work at any unsocial time of shift in
order to preserve my Sundays, I was prepared to work nights, or Saturdays .'She
argued that she doesn't just go to church on Sundays, but spends the whole day
caring for vulnerable people in her community as part of her church's
ministerial team. The order to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy is the
fourth of the ten commandments. John Deegan, Mba's manager who also gave
evidence at the time, told the tribunal he did not believe she had specified
she could not work Sundays.
Christian
campaigners hope this week's case could provide a welcome victory for a faith
they feel has been overlooked when it comes to sensitive issues. Andrea Williams,
founder of the Christian Legal Centre, told The Sunday Times: 'The courts have
acted to protect the kara bracelet (worn by Sikhs), Afro cornrow haircuts, the
wearing of a hijab and a Muslim's right to fast, but have refused to grant
protection to the cross of the Christian Sunday.
In
January this year Nadia Eweida praised Jesus after winning her seven year long
appeal after she was suspended from her job as a British Airways air stewardess
when a customer complained that they found a cross she was wearing offensive.
The
ruling, which was praised by David Cameron, said that a uniform dress code
didn't supersede her right to express her faith.
Source:
Daily Mail UK
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