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Gary McFarlane

the applicant in McFarlane v Relate Avon Ltd, a 2010 case in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales

McFarlane v Relate Avon Ltd

The case attracted significant media attention due to the issues involved, particularly the balance of religious and LGBT rights, the intervention of former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, Lord Carey of Clifton, who provided a witness statement in support of the application, and the judge's strongly worded rebuttal of the applicant's submissions.

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McFarlane's action before the Employment Appeal Tribunal was heard on 9-10 September 2009, and the judgement issued on 30 November.

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McFarlane v Relate Avon Ltd 2010 EWCA Civ 880; 2010 IRLR 872; 29 BHRC 249 was an application in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales for permission to appeal against a decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal, that a relationship counsellor dismissed for refusing to counsel same sex couples on sexual matters because of his Christian beliefs did not suffer discrimination under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003.

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The claim of wrongful dismissal was accepted on procedural grounds, but the other claims were dismissed, and the applicant appealed against the dismissal of the claims of discrimination and unfair dismissal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

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McFarlane applied to the Court of Appeal to be allowed to appeal the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal, however his application was refused by Lord Justice Elias on 30 January 2010.

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A witness statement was also submitted in support of the application by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, Lord Carey of Clifton.

see also