In McAteer v South Tipperary County Council (2014), the employee was an Evangelical Christian. He often spoke about his faith with his co-workers and complaints were raised. He was asked to desist from sharing his faith during the course of the working day, including during his break. The employee undertook to desist but failed to do so and was ultimately called to a disciplinary meeting and received a written warning. After further faith sharing incidents with members of the public, he respectively received a final written warning, suspension and dismissal.

The Equality Officer (“EO”) found that the manifestation of religious beliefs is covered by the Employment Equality Acts. The EO also confirmed that staff were asked to monitor the employee and his interactions and this amounted to less favourable treatment based on religion. The EO was also satisfied that the ban on faith sharing disproportionately impacted on persons of the Evangelical Christian faith and this was not objectively justified, particularly because there was no evidence of how the Council was brought into disrepute. The employee was awarded €70,000.