The Workplace Relations Commission found that Araglen House Nursing Home did not discriminate against Hilary Ellis when it refused to interview her for a job because she was unvaccinated against Covid-19. The decision was dated 6 June 2023.
Ellis said she was brought up in the Christian Science tradition and opposed vaccination as a personal position. The nursing home said vaccination was required to protect residents’ health and safety, and that unvaccinated applicants could not be offered work in the home.
The adjudicator accepted that Ellis had a religious belief but found that her position on vaccination was neither a protected religious belief nor a manifestation of it. The WRC concluded that the refusal was based on her vaccination status, not discriminatory treatment on the religion ground. A discrimination claim must first establish facts that could support an inference of discrimination; the WRC found Ellis had not made that initial case.