03 Aug

Tariq Sadiq represents BBC in ground breaking philosophical belief case

Tariq Sadiq has successfully represented the BBC in the ground breaking philosophical belief claim of Maistry v The BBC. Mr Maistry, who worked as a senior broadcast journalist for the BBC, claimed age and philosophical belief discrimination. His asserted philosophical belief was a belief in BBC values, namely the highly purpose of public service broadcasting. At the Pre-Hearing Review, an Employment Judge controversially held that such a belief could amount to a protected belief under the Religion or Belief Regulations, which attracted substantial media interest - see "Telegraph" or "Daily Mail" articles below:

www.telegraph.co.uk

www.dailymail.co.uk

Following a four week substantive hearing, the Birmingham Employment Tribunal dismissed all 55 free-standing complaints of age and philosophical belief discrimination. The Tribunal found that Mr Maistry's asserted philosophical belief was in fact a belief in the BBC's core values, which all of the BBC's witnesses subscribed to. A substantial costs application is due to be heard in August 2012.

Tariq Sadiq commented "This is the first case where the Employment Tribunal has grappled with the question whether a belief in an employer's values amounts to a philosophical belief under the Regulations. After the PHR, the main battleground was causation and the Tribunal found that there was not even a prima facie case that Mr Maistry had been discriminated against because of his asserted philosophical belief."

As a result of his expertise in religion and philosophical belief discrimination cases, Tariq has been appointed as contributing Editor of Harvey on Industrial Relations and Employment Law, the leading text book for employers, to edit the section on Religion and Belief which is effective from 2013.

Tariq was shortlisted by the Birmingham Law Society as "Barrister of the Year" in 2012.

 For further information about Tariq Sadiq you can download his CV below.

Download Tariq Sadiq's CV