A British nurse has just lost a discrimination case over wearing a cross necklace at work. Shirley Chaplin 54 was told to remove the necklace by the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS trust Hospital. When she refused, she was removed from duties with patients and given a desk job.
She has worn the cross for 30 years and said it would go against her religious faith to remove it. But the employment tribunal didn't agree, and dismissed her claim stating that wearing a crucifix 'was not a requirement of the Christian faith' - unlike Muslim headscarves. They also added that the hospital had acted in a 'reasonable' manner.
The hospital said it was all about health and safety concerns - patients grabbing at necklaces was dangerous. But when she asked if she could pin it outside her uniform, they still said no and confirmed that they wanted to remove the visibility of the cross completely.
Her case against the NHS was backed by seven senior Anglican bishops and even the Archbishop of Canterbury got involved. In his Easter sermon he referred to 'wooden-headed bureaucratic silliness' and this case is surely one of those. He said there was a 'strange mixture of contempt and fear' towards Christianity.
Shirley Chaplin was angry that Muslim nurses' head coverings at the hospital went unchallenged and felt she was badly done by. It's hard not to agree.
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