Welcome for law on teachers’ sexuality

Gay rights groups have welcomed proposed laws which would ensure that religious-run schools could not sack a teacher based on their sexuality.

A proposed amendment to the so-called “chill factor” in employment laws has been tabled by a group of Labour parliamentarians and will be debated in the Seanad next week.

It will change Section 37 in the Employment Equality Act, which allows religious employers an exemption from discrimination rules to end a contract or refuse to hire someone, based on its ethos. This means certain schools and hospitals could fire staff for a range of reasons, including being divorced, or being gay.