The law prohibits direct and indirect discrimination on grounds of, among others, religion or belief. Under Article 15, all churches and religious denominations recognised by law have the right to collective public religious practice. Civil and labour law In Portugal, dismissal on grounds contrary to the employee's fundamental rights is prohibited by law, which includes dismissal on grounds of religion. Civil and labour law Under the Contracts of Employment Act and several other Acts, the employer is required to treat his workers impartially without any unwarranted discrimination on the basis of, among other grounds, his or her religion. The Ethnic Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination on grounds of ethnic origin.
Ethnic origin includes, among others, religious belief.
Criminal law One of the grounds of discrimination covered by the Criminal Code is religious belief. It has recently passed the Human Rights Act 1998, which gives further effect in United Kingdom law to rights under the European Convention of Human Rights, including Article 14 prohibition of discrimination. Section 19 of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 makes direct discrimination on the grounds religious belief or political opinion by public authorities discharging their functions relating to Northern Ireland unlawful. As mentioned earlier, anti-discrimination legislation in Great Britain provides protection against discrimination in, for instance, employment and provision of goods and services on various grounds, but religion is not one of them. The Act requires monitoring by employers to prevent discrimination.