Online Solicitor

Archive for August, 2009

Last time I explained that religious discrimination is a real concern for employers because it is often hard to detect and solve, yet often results in employment solicitors being called and large tribunals being awarded. For example, although employers must be prepared to interview candidates from a range of faiths and religions when recruiting, they cannot directly ask candidates about their faith or the manner in which they practice their religion. This often results in employers being unaware of contradictions between their company’s rules and an employee’s religious practices until the problem manifests itself. When this occurs, the employer can change the business rules to accommodate the religious practice, or they can claim that the company practice is a proportionate way of achieving a business goal that cannot be changed. Here are a couple of examples of how employers and employees are expected to deal with commonplace contradictions of company rules and religious practice:

In cases of rules relating to dress and uniform, employers are usually expected to make changes to their dress codes to accommodate compulsory religious clothing. This is because most uniforms can accommodate items like turbans and burkhas with no detriment to the performance or safety of the employee. However, should the religious clothing contradict health and safety legislation, the employer may have a legitimate argument to refuse to change their dress code to accept items of clothing that will put the employee or company at risk.

A similar common-sense guideline is followed for cases when employees ask for time off for religious observance. Whilst it is deemed unreasonable for employers to refuse to give a religious employee time off for religious festivals or prayer, they are not expected to provide paid leave for religious observance and can request that employees make up any missed working hours.

The next post will be my last on religious discrimination and will serve to outline to purpose of religious discrimination laws and what it considered a “religion” in this day and age.

Over the last two posts I have explained and given examples of the fact that laws relating to religious discrimination in the workplace are used to resolve conflicts between company rules and religious practices in an understanding way. The purpose of these laws is to promote and encourage tolerance and understanding of religious faiths, in order to help people from different faiths integrate into the workplace without feeling under pressure to compromise their faith. Most the time a few basic changes to company practices can help make this possible and in these cases employers are expected to change.

To this extent, laws relating to religious discrimination protect a broad range of faiths and religions – not just the traditional, organised religions like Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism. In fact, many will be pleased to know that the same laws apply to protect those who have no religious belief whatsoever, people whose belief is unrecognised by the religious group they affiliate themselves with and even those who are the sole practitioners of their faith. However, although religious beliefs include both theistic beliefs and non-theistic moral beliefs as to the nature of right and wrong; personal preferences or social, political or economic philosophies are not deemed to be religious beliefs, no matter how strongly they are held.

Although courts often rule in favour of religious employees, it must be remembered that the laws are not in place to punish or restrict employers, but to promote understanding and integration. In cases where religious practices genuinely compromise business goals or employee safety, the law is in place to protect the employer, not to rule in favour of outrageous cases like those we read in the tabloids. Furthermore, employees must be able to prove that their religious beliefs are a genuine part of their life – they cannot simply make them up in order to treated differently, then seek out employment solicitors when their pretend-views aren’t respected!