To send an employee to a client even though she refuses because of her religion?

Do you work in a male dominated industry?
If you feel totally secure it’s easy to do things like this. But if you’re a minority this sort of thing costs you in social capital - so not everyone is in a position to do this. Shame it’s that way but that’s my experience of it

Love it when a poster rides in on their stallion and gives the thread a piece of their mind whilst contributing bugger all itself to the matter at hand! 😂

Yes this is a reasonable way of looking at it. Like the same employee getting a job in a sandwich shop then refusing to sell bacon/sausage/ ham butties. No reasonable adjustment at all can be made. They simply can’t do the job.

So many women on here who instead of posting absolute shite on the internet should really spend time educating themselves on the law and rights. You might learn something.

Yes.

It may not be specifically called that but it’s covered by the legislation relating to indirect discrimination. You are absolutely required to make reasonable adjustments to avoid indirect discrimination.

See p8 at the link.

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/religion-or-belief-guide-to-the-law.pdf

Surely employer only needs to prove that they have considered and tried to find a 'reasonable' adjustment.

Alterantively the client could provide a female identifying chaperone ?

Who knew modern life could be such fun ?

“Chaperone” … I don’t think that employer should take responsibility for providing whatever being a “chaperone” entails. Chaperone must be female, cannot leave employee alone at any time with men. Etc. it’s too risky. Imagine if chaperone went to loo, or fell ill and had to leave.

I suggested earlier, send her an email confirming that SHE turned down the assignment because of the client workplace demographics. In the email, let her know that it’s her decision & in future, it will be her decision.
You can’t provide or find clients to meet her needs alone. No one should be making extra expense of staff to be there for her.

She can put 2+2 together herself regarding “good assignments”. She herself is choosing.

Don’t exclude her, let her self exclude, in writing.

If she complains about not getting good assignments, you can let her know you always give her a choice. She turns them down.

She herself can figure out her career long term.

You are only required by law to make reasonable adjustments to avoid disability discrimination. The duty to make reasonable adjustments doesn’t apply to any of the other protected characteristics

No, they may not. I was suggesting that this was one possibility that could be explored. There's no need for demanding and suing, but a bit of a brainstorm for a solution that might suit everyone could bear fruit.

I used to work at an agency with a devout Christian, who, when a very well know gay rights organisation came on board as a client absolutely point blank refused to work on their account. So yeah, they can.

There is a risk of indirect religion and belief discrimination but as long as you can justify the request as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim then you can issue her an instruction to do it, and if she doesn’t she risks being disciplined or dismissed.

You are required by law to make reasonable adjustments, so if you consider this unreasonable, you need to be able to explain why. It seems a bit far-fetched that there is no other time or other person who could possibly do this job. What if she was on long term sick, what would your plan be?

Sorry, I missed that.

In which case, that may be what is needed here. I assume HR have the process of how to get rid of someone for this reason documented.

However, it is essential the OP follow HR advice to the letter in documenting why the accommodation asked for isn’t reasonable.

This may well end up before a tribunal and being able to prove good faith attempts to address the request are likely to be the difference between winning and losing.

Or the client could just refuse and say "thanks, but maybe we'll hire a company that doesn't need such fuss" ?

Then you'd have another chance at seeing what courts look like, suing the client for .... something or other.

@Diningtableornot the employee is going to the client's offices. OP can hardly demand that the client furnish one of their female staff to chaperone. They may not even have anyone female anyway.

Also, I note the OP hasn’t said what her employer did with the male Muslim employees who refused to work with female managers.

Yes she has. He was let go.

I didn't mean that the client should pay someone to sit there during the meeting. But if there happens to be a woman in the next door office who would be happy to swap desks for the morning, why not ask her to do it? If there isn't, they can say no. Personally I would be delighted to do this kind of thing to support a Muslim woman in the workplace.

The OP was the buddy for the first couple of visits which is how they know there are no women.

It may well be there are no reasonable accommodations but that needs to be properly documented.

Also, I note the OP hasn’t said what her employer did with the male Muslim employees who refused to work with female managers.

Unless she wants a sex discrimination claim, her employer probably needs to do the same as they did in those cases. If she (or her employer) arranged for male employees to only work with men, she probably needs to arrange for this woman to only work with women. Edited to say: or only work with men according to the religious requirements laid down.

If the men were told they could either work with women or leave, the processes are already in place to deal with this request.

Its 2025 and you think a moslem (or other strict faith) shouldn't go into a male dominated industry rather than the work set up adjustments to accommodate some staff restrictions?

I'm in the most male dominated end of tech in big consulting and even our most male dominated clients have women working for them hence my unsanswered question upthread about sector. IME clients themselves will often help accommodate a specific request or need for a meeting - of course you have to ask.

I am also surprised that a new employee is being sent out to a client without some form of buddy from the firm initially as standard practice (unless employed at fairly senior level) or that no swap is possible or that the onsite team from the OP's company can't assist.

Also wondering how the new employee knows there are no women working at this client.

Yes, like believing reasonable adjustments only relate to disabilities for one.

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/religion-or-belief-guide-to-the-law.pdf

Disgraceful that women are advocating disadvantaging other women like, and to satisfy a demand of patriarchy too!

Maybe they are doing what their husbands say ?

If you read all of my posts, I have pointed out that ‘reasonable’ is the definition here. The Act accepts that reasonable adjustment is not always possible, and if, for legitimate reasons, it cannot be found, then sometimes the only alternative is to let the employee go. But it doesn’t absolve the employer from the obligation to consider reasonable adjustment to avoid indirect discrimination.