Prayer Timetable

Your rights at work

Am I entitled to leave for Eid-ul-Adha, Eid-ul-Fitr and Hajj?

Employees are entitled to not less than 4 weeks annual leave each year and may request annual leave to coincide with Eid or Hajj.  Although employers do not have to provide time off for Hajj, Eid or other religious festivals, if they fail to do so, they may be acting unlawfully.  You should make a request for the time off, in advance if possible.  As you will not know the exact date for Eid-ul-Adha or Eid-ul-Fitr, you can tell your employer the possible dates that they may fall on.  You should be able to give your employers sufficient advance notice for Hajj and that the Eid will most likely fall on one of two days.   If your employer refuses that time off, you should request the reasons for refusal.   It may be that the refusal amounts to indirect discrimination if you can show that you have been disadvantaged in practising your religion compared to other employees such as those of the Christian faith who can have time off to observe their religious festivals.  If you can show that you have been disadvantaged, your employer then has to provide justification for his refusal to allow you time off. 

It may be that the days requested fall during a period which is particularly busy for your employer and you would therefore be needed at work, and that your absence would adversely affect the business.  If this is the case, your employer would have a legitimate aim.  However, your employer must also show that he is acting proportionately.  If he has insufficient staff and therefore would not be able to provide cover for you during your absence, and it would be absolutely necessary for you to be at work, it is likely that the refusal to allow you leave would be justified.   The onus will be on your employer to show that your presence at work is necessary.   You should discuss all alternatives with your employer. 

As a Muslim, am I now entitled to time off for my daily prayers, Friday prayer and for breaking my fast during Ramadan?   

Although your employers will not be obliged to provide time off for prayers or breaking of the fast, if they fail to do so, they may be disadvantaging you in practising your religion and unless they can provide justification, they will be acting unlawfully.   For example, an employer’s policy which provides that all employees must take their lunch break at the same time, may disadvantage Muslim men wishing to take their lunch a little later to attend Friday prayers at the mosque.   The employer would then have to justify the policy. 

In general, staff are entitled to a rest break of not less than 20 minutes where working time is more than 6 hours.   Some employees may be able to use their normal break entitlement to pray or break their fast.  However, in most cases, extra time may be required.   You could request that your rest break coincide with your daily prayer times or if necessary, request the extra break time with the offer to make up the time later. 

Employers should be flexible where they can and it may be that, for example, time taken for prayer would be no longer than for a tea or coffee break.  If your employer refuses time off for prayer or flexibility in relation to taking a late lunch for Friday prayers or breaking the fast, he or she should provide reasons for the refusal.  If they have a real business need that would be adversely affected by allowing time off, they may be justified.  You should discuss a number of factors with your employer, such as, the availability of other staff to cover for you if necessary, the resources available to your employer, the nature of your work and whether the business will be adversely affected by your absence at particular times of the day. 

 
I have Muslim employees as well as employees of other faiths.   My Muslim employees have requested a prayer room.  Do I have to provide a prayer room and other prayer facilities? 

The Regulations do not actually say that employers must provide a prayer room but in certain circumstances, refusal to provide a prayer room may amount to indirect religious discrimination if it disadvantages those of a particular religion or belief and cannot be objectively justified.   The type of factors that will be considered in determining whether an employer is justified in refusing provision of a prayer room are the availability of space, any additional costs involved and whether these would be disproportionate, the resources available to the employer, and any other alternative available options.  

Where it is possible, it is considered good practice for employers to provide a room for prayer or private contemplation.   As you have employees of different faiths, you could provide a multi-faith prayer room or contemplation room as it may not be practical for you to provide a separate room for Muslims and there is no reason why an amicable agreement cannot be reached on the use of the room.   You should consult with your employees with a view to agreeing times for when the room can be used by those of different faiths.  In addition, agreement may also need to be reached about the storage and display of religious objects. 

In terms of other prayer facilities such as washing facilities, employers are not required to provide these.   Usually normal toilet facilities will suffice.  However, it may be easier for both Muslim, and non-Muslim employees, if a low sink is provided in the toilets for washing feet.  This is only where it would be practical for the employers and would not incur any excessive cost and employers should not feel compelled to provide extra washing facilities. 

In terms of what considerations employers should bare in mind if they are providing a prayer room, please see page xx.

We are a large and very well known PR company.  One of our employees has started to wear the hijab and we feel that this is undermining our company image.  What can we do?

If you have a policy regarding dress, even if it is an informal policy or practice, and it disadvantages employees of a particular religion, this will be indirect discrimination.  If you do not allow your Muslim employee to wear the hijab, you will have to justify this.  Although you have a company image, will this really be affected by an employee that wears the hijab?  Will the company’s business be adversely affected by some female employees who wear the hijab?  It is doubtful that your company will be acting proportionately if it does not allow the hijab and the discrimination may be unlawful.   It will be for the company to show that the business will be adversely affected and that it is absolutely necessary that all employees dress a certain way. 

I am Muslim and have my own IT consultancy which is made up of all Muslim employees.  Our clients are also all Muslim and we need to recruit a new IT consultant.  We would like to recruit a Muslim because our employees and clients feel more comfortable in an Islamic environment.  Is this possible?

If you advertise for only a Muslim or decide to only recruit a Muslim, this will be direct discrimination.  Your company cannot argue that it is a genuine and determining occupational requirement for the IT consultant to be a Muslim.  This is because being a Muslim is not essential to be able to perform the functions of an IT consultant and there is not the necessary connection between being a Muslim and being an IT consultant.    In addition, your IT consultancy does not have a religious ethos so you cannot rely upon the specific genuine occupational requirement exception either.   If you decide to advertise for or only recruit a Muslim, you may face a claim for discrimination and would not be able to rely upon the narrow exceptions that are available to employers. 

I am a Muslim and work in a large supermarket.  I have been told that I will sometimes have to work in the meat section because all staff are sometimes required to do this.   I do not want to have to work in the meat section because I will have to handle pork.  What can I do?

If your employer has a policy requiring all staff to sometimes work in the meat section, the policy will be indirectly discriminatory because it disadvantages you as a Muslim as you cannot handle pork products.   You should explain the situation to your employers.  As your supermarket is large, and has sufficient staff, it should be able to accommodate you and ensure that another employee works in the meat section when you would be required to do so and instead, you can work in another section.   If, after discussion, your employer insists that you work in the meat section without providing a reason as to why they cannot accommodate you, this may amount to unlawful discrimination and you may be able to take further action. 

 
I am Muslim and over the last few weeks, I have noticed my manager referring to Muslims as “terrorists” when talking to some of my colleagues in front of me.  I find this hurtful and offensive but am afraid that everyone will think I am being oversensitive, as it is not directed at me.  What can I do? 

Harassment is unlawful and can be subtle such as comments made on a daily basis.  It does not matter that the comments are made to you directly.  They can be about a religion in general.  The comments made by your manager appear to amount to harassment because they are hurtful and offensive.  You should approach your manager if you feel comfortable in doing so and explain that such comments are hurtful and offensive to Muslims.  It may be that after speaking to you, he realises the effect of his comments and that they are based on stereotypical images.  Extra dialogue and perhaps training would increase a greater understanding amongst management and other staff.  However, if your manager says that you are being oversensitive, or you feel you cannot approach him, you should approach your personnel department and if no action is taken, exhaust internal grievance procedures or if necessary, seek further legal advice.  

Employers that close over Christmas and other public bank holidays such as Easter, but require non-Christian employees to take time out of their annual holiday entitlement in order to observe their religious festivals, may be indirectly discriminating even though such practice is observed by most of the country.  The requirement that all employees take off Christmas day, will indirectly disadvantage Muslim employees and employees of other faiths, if they are required to use up their annual holiday entitlement for their religious festivals at other times of the year, whilst Christian employees will not. 

However, it is likely that the majority of employers will be able to provide justification.  A wide variety of aims may be considered as legitimate.  In many organisations, economic factors such as business needs, market forces and considerations of efficiency will often be a legitimate aim.  In most cases, the requirement that employees take time off on Christmas day, and Easter, could be justified on the basis that it is a holiday which is widely recognised throughout Britain, on which very few businesses are open for trade; and that most employees (regardless of their faith) might expect to have the day as a holiday, thus making it difficult for an employer to find a sufficient number of employees to work on Christmas Day.  In those circumstances, the vast majority of employers would be justified in requiring their employees to take time off on Christmas Day so that the business can close down.

However, there may be circumstances, where an employer can accommodate a Muslim employee’s desire to work on Christmas day so that she/he can take time off on another day to observe a religions festival, without having to use her/his annual holiday entitlement.  There may be a situation where some aspect of a company or organisation can remain open on a public holiday like Christmas day.  Where it is possible for employees to come to work and the employers’ business would not be adversely affected, there appears to be no reason why non-Christian employees should not be permitted to work on days such as Christmas day and then take time off later to observe their own religious festivals without using their annual holiday entitlement. 

Ultimately, in most cases, employers are going to be able to argue that they are justified in closing for Christmas and Easter but in rare cases, whether an employer is justified may have to be determined by an Employment Tribunal.