Explainer: Gender critical views as ‘protected beliefs’ under the Equality Act 2010

Disclaimer: This article is for general information. It is not intended to be used as legal advice.

The information below was correct as of 19 October 2026.

Introduction

Freedom of expression and belief are fundamental rights protected by law in the UK.

The legal position in relation to freedom of expression and belief, and to what extent we must tolerate opposing beliefs, including those that people find controversial and controversial and offensive, is a complex and evolving area of law. Many types of religious and philosophical beliefs are protected in law from discrimination by employers, public services, service providers, clubs and associations.

The Equality Act 2010

The Equality Act 2010 is the law which specifically protects us from discrimination in the UK.

There are nine characteristics which are specifically protected from discrimination under the Equality Act. They are known as “protected characteristics”:

• age;
• disability;
• gender reassignment;
• marriage and civil partnership;
• pregnancy and maternity;
• race (including a person’s colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins);
• religion or belief;
• sex; and
• sexual orientation.

There are four main types of discrimination under the Equality Act:

• Direct discrimination: When you are treated less favourably than others, because of a protected characteristic.
• Indirect discrimination: Where a policy or practice applies to everyone equally, but has a worse impact on people sharing a protected characteristic.
• Harassment: When an employer, service provider or public body engages in unwanted behaviour which is related to a protected characteristic, and the purpose of the behaviour, or its effect, is to violate your dignity or create a hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
• Victimisation: Where you are treated badly or put in a worse position because you’ve done a protected act. A protected act is doing anything in connection with the Equality Act to protect your or someone else’s rights under the Act. This includes making a complaint under the Equality Act, or bringing court proceedings under the Equality Act.

Under the Equality Act, you are protected from discrimination:

• in the workplace;
• when you use public services, including healthcare and education;
• when you use businesses and other organisations that offer goods and services;
• when you use transport;
• when you join a club or association; and
• when a public body exercises a public function that affects you.

If you feel that that you have been discriminated against because of a protected belief, you can bring a claim in court for discrimination, for example in an employment tribunal or in a county court for damages.

This page explores ‘religion and belief’ as one of the nine protected characteristics, particularly in the context of gender critical views.

What is a protected religion or belief?

Under Section 10 of the Equality Act 2010:

“(1) Religion means any religion and a reference to religion includes a reference to a lack of religion.

(2) Belief means any religious or philosophical belief and a reference to belief includes a reference to a lack of belief.”

For a belief to be protected from discrimination under the Equality Act, it must satisfy the five-stage test established in the 2009 Employment Appeal Tribunal case Grainger plc v Nicholson [2010] ICR 360 – also known as the ‘Grainger criteria’:

1. the belief must be genuinely held;
2. it must be a belief and not an opinion or viewpoint based on the present state of information available;
3. it must be a belief as to a weighty and substantial aspect of human life and behaviour;
4. it must attain a certain level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance; and
5. it must be worthy of respect in a democratic society, not be incompatible with human dignity and not conflict with the fundamental rights of others.

Context is very important when courts determine whether a belief should be protected from discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

Courts are also required to consider our rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, brought into UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998. Courts are required, “so far as it is possible to do so”, to read and give effect to all legislation (including the Equality Act) in a way that is compatible with our human rights under the Convention, in particular:

1. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 9).
2. Freedom of expression (Article 10) which protects both popular and unpopular expression, including speech that may upset, shock, disturb or offend others.

Beliefs which fall within the protection of Article 9 of the Human Rights Act 1998, will fall within the protection of Section 10 of the Equality Act 2010 as a protected belief.

Can views that are offensive to some people be a protected belief, including gender-critical views?

When determining what kind of beliefs are capable of being protected under the Equality Act 2010, courts have emphasised the importance of diversity and pluralism of thought, belief and expression and their role in a liberal democracy. This includes beliefs which others may find offensive.

In Maya Forstater v CGD Europe UKEAT/0105/20/JOJ, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that a philosophical belief will only be excluded from protection for failing to satisfy the fifth part of the Grainger criteria (a belief worthy of respect in a democratic society), “if it was the kind of belief the expression of which would be akin to Nazism or totalitarianism”.

In the Maya Forstater case, the appellant held gender-critical views. She was employed by GCD Europe on a fellowship basis. She engaged in debates on social media, and in doing so made remarks which some found transphobic. Some of her colleagues complained that they found her comments offensive, and following an investigation, her fellowship was not renewed. The appellant brought an employment claim on the basis that she was discriminated against because of her gender-critical beliefs. The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the appellant’s beliefs, whilst offensive to some, and notwithstanding its potential to result in harassment of trans persons in some circumstances, fell within the protection under Article 9 of the Human Rights Act 1998, and therefore within section 10 of the Equality Act. Individuals with gender-critical views are therefore capable of being protected from discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the potential for people being offended by certain views cannot itself be a reason to exclude a belief from protection from the Equality Act 2010 altogether.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal made another important clarification in this case. Just because a belief is protected, people are not free to manifest their belief in a way that would impact the rights of others. The Court gave the example that people could not repeatedly misgender trans persons. Under the Human Rights Act 1998 and prohibitions under the Equality Act 2010, people with gender-critical views cannot discriminate and harass people on the basis of other protected characteristics.

Beliefs which are supportive of trans equality may also amount to protected beliefs under the Equality Act 2010, and employees who support trans equality also have rights to freedom of expression and to manifest their beliefs.

Case law (law which is established by judges making decisions in court cases) emphasises the importance of the following principles in the context of determining what amounts to a protected belief:

1. Freedom of expression is one of the essential foundations of democratic society.
2. It is not for the Court to inquire into the validity of a belief.
3. The freedom to hold whatever belief goes hand-in-hand with the State remaining neutral as between competing beliefs, refraining from expressing any judgement as to whether a particular belief is more acceptable than another, and ensuring that groups opposed to one another, tolerate each other.
4. A belief that has the protection of freedom of thought, conscience and religion under Article 9 is one that only needs to satisfy very modest legal threshold requirements – the bar should not be set too high.