Prison chaplains, pay progression and discrimination: Naeem v SoS for Justice

In Naeem v The Secretary of State for Justice [2015] EWCA Civ 1264 Mr Naeem, the Muslim chaplain at HMP Bullingdon, sued for indirect religious or, alternatively, racial discrimination. There was no claim of direct discrimination [11]. The MoJ has a long pay ladder for chaplains with slow progression and most entrants start at the bottom rung. Muslim chaplains were unable to join the ladder until 2002, while Anglican chaplains had been able to do so for many years. Therefore:

“Until the Claimant reaches the top of the ladder, it is likely that he will be paid less than his Christian comparators, because they were able to start on the ladder long before him, and pay relates predominantly to time spent on the ladder” [11].

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