Witch sacked for taking Halloween off work to attend Wiccan ceremony wins £15,000 after claiming religious discrimination
- - Karen Holland accused Sikh bosses of discriminating against her faith
- - But they said she was sacked because they caught her stealing
- - Tribunal found in Wiccan's favour and awarded her £15,000
By PAUL BENTLEY
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Karen Holland, who won her tribunal for unfair dismissal for being a Wicca witch
A Pagan witch has won a religious discrimination case after claiming she was sacked for attending a Halloween ceremony.
Karen Holland, 45, was awarded more than £15,000 by the courts in what is believed to be the first payout of its kind in Britain.
Her Sikh bosses insisted they fired her after they caught her stealing.
But she accused them of turning on her when they found out she was a Wicca-practising pagan and took them to an employment tribunal, which ruled in her favour.
Yesterday Mrs Holland, who is now on Jobseeker’s Allowance, said she was taken outside and fired when she returned to the newsagents where she worked after celebrating All Hallows’ Eve.
The Pagan festival, also called the Feast of the Dead, is marked by making food for the deceased, who are said to reawaken that night and travel back to their old homes for refreshments.
Traditionally, cakes and meats are served alongside apples, pears, pomegranates, ale and herbal tea. Incense is also burned with woods and herbs.
Mrs Holland claimed her bosses looked at her as if she was a ‘leper’ when they learnt she was Wiccan.
She said she was subsequently ridiculed for her beliefs by brothers Tarloch and Gurnam Singh, 36 and 25, who own the Londis shop in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, where she was employed.
They allegedly asked her if modern day witches could fly on broom sticks – something they deny they ever said.
The Wiccan faith stems from some of the oldest religious practices in the world and has a number of annual festivals (file photo)
Mrs Holland was later accused of stealing a magazine and a lottery ticket and fired. The Singhs gave her £204.76 as two weeks wages but no redundancy payment. She was also barred from returning to the store.
Mrs Holland took her bosses to court, claiming unfair dismissal, sex discrimination and religious discrimination.
She was awarded £15,337.12 in total, including £6,145.44 for unfair dismissal and £9,000 plus £95.84 interest for both of the other charges.
The tribunal, in front of Judge George at Watford, found the way she was dismissed was ‘indefensible’ and breached ‘the basics of natural justice’.
The ruling stated: ‘She described him [her boss] as seeming revolted by the idea that she was a Wiccan and was made to feel that there was something wrong with her.
“There was a look of disgust, it was scary” were the words she used.
Wicca was introduced to England in 1954 by retired civil servant Gerald Gardner. He claimed to have been initiated into the faith by a coven of witches in the New Forest (file photo)
‘When she explained that the two men might have come across a reference to a religion where the female members were called witches and that was the Wiccan religion it led to jokes poking fun at a stereotypical view of witches which she found offensive.
‘Whatever was said it crossed the line from polite if uninformed and possible crass enquiry to insulting mockery.’
The Singh brothers are appealing against the court’s decision.
They insist they caught Mrs Holland stealing and showed her CCTV footage to prove what they had seen before sacking her.
Later, the footage was deleted because they did not think they’d have to produce it again.
Tarloch Singh, who also has a shop in Windsor, said the payout would ruin his business. ‘I did not know about her religion.
‘I never ask my staff if they are Christian, Muslim or anything else,’ he said. ‘She made this up. She has no witnesses. I don’t know how I will pay.’
Mrs Holland had worked in the shop for two years before it was taken over by the Singh brothers last October. She was fired in November.
She said: ‘I never stole at all. I worked in that shop for two and a half years and I had a great reputation.’
Mrs Holland, who has been officially initiated as a witch and wears jewellery representing Mother Earth, said she has ‘always been drawn to the spiritual side’ and has ‘always had a call towards it’.
‘It’s not like looking into being a Muslim or being a Catholic. It’s not like going to church on a Sunday. It’s a draw. It’s a pull. It’s a way of life. A total way of life.’
MODERN DAY WITCHES: WHAT IT MEANS TO FOLLOW THE WICCAN RELIGION
Wicca was introduced to England in 1954 by retired civil servant Gerald Gardner, who claimed to have been initiated in 1939 into a coven of witches in the New Forest.
Dubbed the ‘father of Wicca’, Gardner wrote a book called the Book of Shadows, containing spells, from which most modern witches draw inspiration.
Some Wiccans perform rituals in the nude, known as ‘skyclad’, because clothes block magical energies.
Wiccans worship a goddess who is split in to three sections – virgin, mother and wise woman.
They also venerate the ‘horned god’ who is associated with forests, animals and the after-life.
The religion’s origins lie in pre-Christian traditions, folklore, folk witchcraft and magic.
Wicca teaches reincarnation. After death the human soul is reborn as the same species, again and again.
Followers celebrate eight festivals a year, known as Sabbats, which mark the four seasons and different agricultural festivals.
During rituals, witches stand in a circle and cast spells which are often used for healing, protection and fertility.
2011 census figures showed there were almost 12,000 Wiccans in the UK.
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