The claimant applied for the post of Community Development Officer with the Respondent, which is a limited company involved in community development. After being shortlisted for interview and being the only one of the three candidates to reach the threshold interview score, he was not appointed to the post and was informed that it would be re-run.

The claimant alleged that the decision not to appoint him had been an act of direct discrimination on the ground of political opinion contrary to the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant’s ‘socialist world view’, as he described it, amounted to a political opinion for the purposes of the legislation. Furthermore, it pieced together the evidence and found that the respondent was aware of this political opinion, primarily due to knowledge of the claimant’s previous work as a co-ordinator with a group which held ‘distinct anti-political party views’. The tribunal thought it ‘highly unlikely’ that an innocent explanation existed for the failure to appoint the claimant and ultimately held that there had been unlawful discrimination. The claimant was awarded over £10,000, including £6,000 for injury to feelings.

Whilst the term ‘political opinion’ was not defined in the 1998 Order, McKay v Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance [1994] NI 103 made clear that it is not restricted to views held in connection with community background and can relate to the conduct of the government of the state or to public policy.

The tribunal here noted that despite the claimant not having “mainstream or even particularly well-articulated political views” his opinions satisfied the legislation, in particular that he believed control and funding of community funding should not be a matter for main political parties but for the communities themselves. The tribunal observed that the interpretation of ‘political opinion’ is now much broader than the legislation realistically intended. Whilst legislation was never required in Great Britain to deal with ‘left/right’ political views, this case illustrates how the legislation in Northern Ireland can protect a wide ambit of opinions such as those relating to policy differences in the organisation of community development.

This case review was written by John Taggart BL. NI Tribunal decisions are available on the OITFET website: