Devout

Devout Or In Doubt

 In our monitoring of employment tribunals we regularly bring you those which stand out for any number of reasons: awards, dismissals, and those which make you raise your eyebrows. This month’s takes disbelief to a new level!

 Many people hold religious beliefs but however devout they may be, it is generally accepted the workplace is not the place for expounding very extreme views.

However, a worker who cleaned trains in London took his bosses to an employment tribunal saying among other things, that he was offended by the sight of the word “Lord” graffitied on a carriage wall.

Godswill Abia, a devout Christian who was said to be passionately religious, also brought a legal claim against the cleaning company that was contracted by Transport for London over claims that his colleagues were “polluting the dignity of the creator in him” by the way in which they discarded their sponges.

In a string of claims, Abia said his Christianity had been targeted by a co-worker who had queried why he enjoyed listening to the reggae star Bob Marley.

Abia took issue with the word “Lord” being graffitied on the wall of a train he was cleaning, claiming it had been written where he had argued with a colleague about religion. He told the tribunal that it had been a “deliberate act insulting his religion and his beliefs”.

However, all his allegations of religious harassment were dismissed by an employment tribunal, which ruled that none of the behaviour cited by Abia was targeted at him.

The Graham Agency, keeping you informed.