The lawyers for sacked rugby player Israel Folau have signalled they are filing an unfair dismissal claim with Fair Work Australia, claiming the 30-year-old was unfairly booted for sharing his religious beliefs, ABC reports.
[jwplayer PntNaygA]
The former Wallabies centre had his contract with Rugby Australia and the NSW Waratahs cancelled last month after he shared an Instagram post saying that “hell awaits” gay people, among others.
An independent panel found that message was a clear violation of Rugby Australia’s code of conduct. That assessment ended his purported $4 million deal with the sporting code.
Folau today issued a statement saying “no Australian of any faith should be fired for practising their religion,” adding “a nation made up of so many different faiths and cultural backgrounds will never be truly rich unless this freedom applies to all of us.”
His legal team argues that his termination breached Section 772 of the Fair Work Act, which states it is unlawful for employers to bin their employees on the basis of religion.
They are reportedly after “substantial remedies from his former employers should they be found to have breached the Fair Work Act”.
The case is set to be one of Australia’s most high-profile tests of protections for religious adherents, versus contracts which ask their employees not to say that gay people are going to hell unless they personally apologise to Jesus Christ. Watch this space.
