To not accommodate a request by a female Muslim never to be in work "alone" with any male colleague?

[LibertyPrints]

"Sarah" has worked with our company since December. We have 12 staff (some of whom are part time) across 2 sites. All staff work between the 2 sites. They are retail outlets.

Sarah is Muslim and has recently contacted me to ask if I can ensure she is not ever scheduled to be alone with any male colleague at either site stating this is to do with her religious beliefs.

The manager is male and 3 staff are male. Different staff have different skill levels and they are scheduled where they are best utilised on any given day/week and so that all shifts are pretty equally shared out. It is not practical to agree to this.

For clarity I have no issue with making adjustments for her where I can. For example she asked at interview if she could reduce her lunch hour by varying amounts and then take that extra time out when she wanted to pray at varying times of the day. Even though we don't normally allow breaks to be taken in this way I agreed willingly.

I feel really awkward saying no but it's really far from ideal. AIBU to think if she can't expect this from us?

I realise very few posters have insisted Sarah's request isn't sexist. I'm afraid it is! Her religion (or somebody using it as a lever) has directed her that she may not work alone with a man. This direction is discriminatory against men.

Imagine someone at the same workplace belonged to a religion that says they mustn't be alone with a Muslem. How would you suggest they approach the issue?

the majority of muslim women actually choose how to interpret and practice their religion

So it's her choice to be sexist and awkward?

just as it is a woman's individual choice to be 'sexist', 'awkward' and discriminatory when it comes to procreating.....just as it is a woman's individual choice to be 'awkward' and 'sexist' and discriminatory when she chooses to be actively pro-life to the extent that laws have been imposed that take away a womans autonomy over her own body and life.....

twizzle your clutching at straws with that analogy which really does not work. Aside from the fact I don't understand your last sentence. Are you suggesting there are laws that force abortions on pro-lifers?

In law religion is a protected characteristic. Not being alone with a member of the opposite sex is an accepted part of modest behaviour. If the company can meet the employees need with out it affecting the business then legally they have to or they are guilty of indirect discrimination. This all comes under the equality act. It is about removing barriers to people working

In this specific case I don't know how much of an issue it would be, we don't know how many people work at any one time. How busy the actual sites are. Only the op knows whether it is actually workable or not but what she can't do is just dismiss the request because it's some superstitious nonsense.

I would allocate her permanently to the concession - using the fact that the concession is within a larger store to mitigate against times when she may be manning the concession rather than the whole shop with a man.

Could you argue that the concession being within a larger store with women employees on other concessions overcomes the concern about being alone with a man?

It would show willing, without necessarily disrupting your business.

Some horrible, vindictive views on this thread. I was particularly surprised by the early one about making the employee sit down with all the names and work out the shift pattern. If she had requested flexible working due to childcare and an employer made her do that people would be up in arms.

The OP ought to be discussing the issue with the employee in question and then an employment lawyer or an HR professional, not an internet forum.

The employee hasn't made any demands or any threats, just a simple request. All the employer has to do is consider it fairly and if it's not viable then write to the employee and explain.

Frankly I think this woman is trying it on and I wouldn't be surprised if she launches a legal claim. Be careful, she pushed for you to accommodate her religion which you did and now she is pushing for more to see if she can corner you into making a decision she can use to make a legal claim.

Take legal advice and put any decision in writing.

She did not raise this at interview and I think a big retail company would just refuse saying it was not possible to offer this guarantee of not being alone with a man within the context of a shift working patterns she knew about when she agreed to sign the contract of employment.

If I were a man (which I am) working in this business I would be livid at the implication of what this woman is requesting.

Frankly I think it is pathetic if a man is livid at this request. Says more about him, and not in a good way.

Is the ManWithNoName livid at every woman that walks the street with full face covering?

Meloria, I agree with everything you just said apart from the shift pattern bit.

I think that's actually quite reasonable if it's done properly - it's involving the employee with trying to find a shift solution that would work, there are a limited number of employees so even a flexible working request may be difficult to implement.
If the employee and shift planner did that, the employee can then see that her request is being taken seriously, but it also shows in a visual way how sometimes it may not be possible to make it work.

Also, manwithnoname why would anyone be 'livid' re a request?

It is a request, that's all. Bit over dramatic to be 'livid' imo.

I'm with Meloria on this one. It seems like stirring to me.

I have to be honest, if she'd said this from the start, I'd be less as if her religion is so important to her, she should have put her cards on the table at the start.

OP, you do have to make reasonable adjustments by law so YABU to not accommodate her request as best you can. She (the employee) has to understand that even if she is on a shift with woman, that person may pop back and a male customer may come in and that even if she is on shift with a woman, that woman may have a childcare emergency and a male will cover etc etc. If she is asking you to accommodate her, she has to give a little.

How would you feel about having to work with someone you know has requested that they not work with you since they do not trust you to behave in an appropriate manner?

Livid maybe a bit strong, but only a bit. I really wouldn't be at all happy about having to continue working with them.

If you request part time work after mat leave for example, when you were employed full time, then you have to show how the change won't be detrimental to the business. The onus is on the employee to establish that because they are the ones wishing to alter the terms under which they were employed.

I would get legal advice but my instinct would be not to go out of my way but to let all the leg work be done by the employee. But then I also think religion and childcare are private matters and shouldn't be brought into the workplace.

If you take a job you should just do it as agreed and nit expect the world to bend over backwards to accommodate personal beliefs.

Would she work with lesbians?

A member of staff can be let go in the first 2 years for any reason or none.......

I agree you have to turn it down because she is requesting you to discriminate about who does what and when at work on the basis of their gender. Which is discriminatory. I would also point out to her if she works on the shop floor that at some point she might be alone in the shop just with male customers and you couldn't make allowances for that either.

yy to this If you take a job you should just do it as agreed and nit expect the world to bend over backwards to accommodate personal beliefs

Last place I worked, smokers weren't allowed breaks but people were allowed breaks for prayer. WTF

Angelos, smoking isn't a protected characteristic, religion is.

Muslim women who won't work alone with men, yes can work alone with lesbians.

I disagree from a feminist perspective with the notion that women have to be modest. But for a women who is brought up in such a strict Islam branch, then it is not necessarily about what she feels about working alone with a man. There may be gossip and pressure from a Husband or relatives for her not to work alone with a man.

And I despair at all of those who can only see situations like this from their own pov. A man instead of being livid (nice NC mid thread there by the way), should understand that this women may be given a hard time by relatives if she works alone with a man.

But legally, it doesnt matter what anyone thinks about this. Legally the employer must accommodate reasonable adjustments for religion. If you don't agree with this, talk to your MP, not an employer or employee exercising their legal rights.

She didn't say she wouldn't work with men, just not on her own with men.

I would imagine lesbians don't pose a problem Angelos, as they're not men.

Sorry grennie, x post.

Legally the employer must accommodate reasonable adjustments for religion.

I agree, but think in this case the OP has a valid business reason to refuse the request.

I agree with getting the employee to put the request in writing, and in giving a written response, especially if the response highlights that while the OP can make shift adjustments as far as possible, it would not be possible to guarantee that this employee would not have to work with men.

The small number of employees clearly means that anything unforeseen such as illness would make any guarantee meaningless.

No problem Monica.

A chaperone would be perfectly possible and place the total burden for dealing with this on the employee. And it would be easy to draw up a list of appropriate behaviours for a chaperone including that they must sort out their own insurance and provide proof of it to the employer.

The employer could also as suggested upthread, assign her only to work in the concession, as presumably she is unlikely to be truly alone with a male employee as she may be in a small shop.

And the employer can say that where possible, she will assign female employees to work with her, but make it clear that that is extremely unlikely to be possible all, maybe even most of the time.