Legal row | Worker sacked for taking religious holiday off puts spotlight on discrimination laws

A worker who was sacked for taking time off work to observe a religious holiday has won a huge court payout, the Law Society has reported.

Philip Bialick, has walked away from court with more than £26,000 in compensation, after being dismissed from his job with Manchester-based law firm NNE Law following an incident in April 2020.

According to an employment tribunal, Bialick, who is Jewish, was sacked for not showing up to work on Passover. He had booked time off to celebrate the holy day but was told to come into work anyway, an employment judge heard.

This was reportedly because Bialick had recently taken time off work for illness, when he was told to self-isolate by the NHS, just weeks into the UK’s first Coronavirus lockdown. But NNE Law said it did not allow case handlers to be away from the office for more than two weeks, the Law Society reported.