religion discrimination , sexual orientation

Anonymous

It would be unfair to give some of your employees extra days off/holiday just because they are religious - surely it could be classed as discrimination. Religion has no place in the office, it should remain as a separate part of your life, just the same as any other activity you partake of in your own time.

Similarly, why would anyone want to know what an individual does in bed? Unless you plan to encourage them to carry out the practices in the office/factory. Again, own preferences=own time and keep work separate!

Anonymous

In response to 1) anon's reply; UK businesses close at Easter & Christmas - surely these are religious festivals!

2) Mind your own business would be the standard reply in my office to a question about sexual orientation.

Liz Harris
Member - 4 posts

1) Many UK businesses close at Easter & Christmas because days around these Christian Festivals are designated Statutory/Bank Holidays in the UK. However, increasingly businesses open on these days and, as in my organisation, staff are allowed to take time off in lieu of working on those days. This seems to be good practice as is the practice of being sensitive to an employee's religion and allowing them to take days off on their own special festivals. Asking a person's religious affiliation is regarded in most cases as contrary to equal opportunities (even in church organisations) unless they would not be able to perform a significant part of their job function without having a specific religious affiliation.

2) Questions about an employee's sexual orientation would seem to verge on discriminatory unless it is in line with policies relationg to Child Protection or the protection of Vulnerable Adults and the employees concerned would have significant contact with them. I have had occasion in an interview situation to have to prevent a fellow panel member from asking the candidate about their sexual orientation as it would be contrary to equal opportunities/discrimination policies. It should also be remembered that not all homosexuals are paedophiles and that some heterosexuals are - sexual orientation does not indicate a tendency to abuse (or not) or even that the individual is an adult survivor of abuse.

Anonymous

Religious Holidays?

It would be nice to have the choice. Do we really all want a Christmas break or whatever? Non Christians seem to have even less choice.

Sexual orientation? Does it matter to anyone other than the person involved.

Might as well be concerned that a person is a Millwall supporter or not.

Jb

Anonymous

I think Liz needs to be careful about her choice of words; "It should also be remembered that not all homosexuals are paedophiles and that some heterosexuals are". This infers that paedophiles are more often homosexual than heterosexual. Can she point me in the direction of some research that she may be aware of to reinforce that inference.

Anonymous

On the subject of religious holidays I would dispute the comments of anon that religion should be kept separate from work as for a lot of people thier religion is a fundamental part of their life and integrated into their daily life. Would anon suggest the Muslims not be allowed to fast or pray during the working day?

I do however agree with the practise of flexible holidays, where current statutory holidays, many based on the the Christian festivals, can be worked and time off taken at other times.

In comment on Mike's suggestion that Liz was suggesting that more homosexuals than heterosexuals are paedophiles, I understood that she was trying to do quite the reverse.

Anonymous

The problem with the comment from Liz is that there is no direct link at all between peaedophiles, homosexuals or heterosexuals. It was her unfortunate use of the words "all" and "some"!

Sorry if this is getting off the main thread.

Jane Byford - Martineau Johnson
Online advisor - 9 posts

Dear Brian

Thank you for your recent query.

As you will be aware, from 2 December 2003 new legislation was introduced which formalised and extended the rights of employees of any faith to take time off work for religious observance. This could be an entire day to celebrate the Muslim festival Eid, for example, or 10 minutes at particular times of the day to pray.

The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 prohibit direct and indirect discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief. However, there is no express right for employees to take time off for religious purposes, so employers do not have to grant requests if they conflict with operational needs. However, employers do risk liability for direct discrimination if they refuse to grant leave because of the employee's religion or belief. They also risk charges of indirect discrimination if they have company rules or practices that are disadvantageous to employees of a particular religion or belief and which cannot be justified for other reasons.

Normally employees will be expected to use their existing holiday entitlement to take time off for religious observance and no extra holiday need be granted. However, you may have issues with when holiday is taken. For example, if you require employees to take a certain proportion of their holiday at Christmas this could disadvantage employees of other religions than Christianity.

Employers are not legally bound to grant every request for time off for religious observance, but they are required to consider requests and justify any negative responses. Problems could arise if the time that the employee wants to take off conflicts with operational requirements. Employers are entitled to refuse requests, as long as they can prove there is a valid reason for doing so.

It may be useful to ask current employees about their religion so that the Company can make provision for prayer times and for the observance of various religious festivals. Employees are not however, obliged to disclose this information to you and any request that you make should make it clear that you want this information because the Company celebrates and values the diversity of its workforce and aims to create an environment where the cultural, religious and non-religious beliefs of all its employees are respected. It is not advisable to require job applicants to declare their religion on a job application form, such a request could expose you to a potential claim for discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief if the applicant is unsuccessful.

Similarly, you should not ask either your current staff or job applicants to disclose their sexual orientation. The Human Rights Act 1998 ensures that everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life and any such request from the Company could be seen as prejudicing those rights. The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 prohibits direct and indirect discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and enables an employee to make a Tribunal claim against you if they felt this information had been used to discriminate against them in any way. In interviews therefore, it is good practice to avoid questions in relation to marital status, children or anything which might be taken to be an enquiry into sexual orientation, religion or belief.

I trust this answers your query, but please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further advice.

Yours sincerely

Jane Byford

Partner

Martineau Johnson