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 would look at how accommodating the member of staff was when considering the effect on the business.

e.g. if 'Sarah' is very willing to work over Christmas, then she is more useful to the business and this should be accounted for.

Grennie a chaperone might help, but then that means the OP would have to consider all the associated costs, eg insurance (would the chaperone be covered?), including liability insurance. And what about risk assessments? What if the chaperone turns out to have a physical disability? Would the OP then have to make adjustments to allow for this?

I think the OP needs to go into this from a purely business POV. Look at what practical changes can be made, and if any proposed solution could work in terms of shifts, etc. But ultimately, if the business would suffer to meet this request, then the OP is perfectly entitled to turn it down.

Highly unlikely she would ask at interview

Why? OP has already shown herself to be reasonable, accommodating changed working times, prayer breaks and now addressing this latest request. If a potential employee has particular needs they want addressing then they're obliged to mention this at interview; employers aren't mind readers, after all

And "the first time she's felt brave enough to make the request" ??? Oh please ...

Heard it all now!!

Yanbu at all.. If Sarah don't like it Sarah knows where the door is

Livid is not a good state of mind to handle HR matters in, is it?

The problem is that any promise to Sarah has to be hedged round with conditions. If one of the women resigns or goes on mat. leave and a man is recruited - all bets are off. Even a day's sickness may mean that she has to work close to a man.

I see the point about "perhaps it's one particular man" - but you can only help with problem she identifies. As for the suggestion that "it's her DH or her male relllies" - frankly that is patronising (matronising?) in the extreme. She must be taken to speak for herself.

OP I still think you need professional advice. But failing that do the best you can without disrupting other people's lives and careers and what her of the limits of the possible.

I just raised this as an interesting dilemma with my Philosophy/Theology student DS...he said it's not in the Koran, but is an Arabic cultural norm, a bit like a catechism in the Catholic Church vs something actually being in the Bible.

Therefore there is no religious/legal onus on you, only a moral one, of being as nice as you can practically be without hurting your business and your duty of care to the other 11 employees.

Wise DS' would therefore suggest exactly what other posters have:

1. Sit with her and show her how unworkable it is
2. Ask why it wasn't brought up at interview (in a nice way)
3. Suggest, if she does feel strongly, that on the days she runs the risk of being 'alone' you will give her due warning and she can bring in a chaperone at her own cost

Can you imagine your workmate turning up with a chaperone whose sole purpose is to ensure you don't molest them There is no way I would tolerate someone watching me all day like that! it would be horrible.

I wouldn't want some random hanging about my business all day because an employee believes her male colleagues couldn't be trusted to behave appropriately. And if I was one of those employees I'd be bloody insulted by the implication.

"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."

"She already requested a drop from full time to 3 days per week which I have granted."

And now a third request to never be alone (i.e. rostered) with three of the twelve employees.

For someone who's only been working for the OP since December (4-5 months), that's a lot of requests, surely?

if she gets her request, sexism AND religion wins. Being a retail manager most of my adult life… neither should be an issue in the work place, leave it at home. I've worked with many muslim staff, this is not the norm re her request . I'd be furious if i was a male worker confronted with this… imagine a man saying he couldn't work with a woman in case his female partner didn't like it… or because he couldn't trust females not to jump his bones

Yes I'm very against the idea of chaperones, cans of worms Colleagues are colleagues- who on earth are chaperones when it comes to workplace dynamics!? what on earth happens if an employee experiences a workplace issue/conflict etc with a chaperone!

In an average working week, how many people are required in each shop at any one time?

There are 12 employees, only 3 men.

Is it really 'unworkable' to attempt to accommodate the request?

In my last retail job I had staff of all backgrounds and religions. A chaperone would certainly add a spanner to the works. As Nestabee says. Also in retail where do you draw the line? do they for e.g…. follow her to the staff room (if you have one). Wait outside the loo. etc . It would seriously piss off other employees IMHO

How do you 'vet' a chaperone? do they come with references? do they have a criminal record. etc. Wouldn't it appear weird to customers to see someone hanging around an employer? what do they do? stand in a corner and observe? literally shadow her? what if the chaperone needs notice and has childcare needs etc. what if they can't do certain days. This would be my worst nightmare if i were still an employer! I could also imagine staff playing up e.g. 'can i bring my wife to work?' ' can my daughter come and sit with me' ' i want to bring my dog' etc…. and who could blame them

to have a chaperone is almost like having another member of staff. One you have not advertised for or interviewed. Beyond ridiculous. To accommodate this as an employer is ludicrous… if Sarah is receiving this sort of pressure at home, it's very sad . If it's all off her own back…. it should've been brought up in interview

Is the concession on the ground floor? If not, does she have to use a lift? What if the lift occupied by one or more men and no women?

Religions have legal protection under UK law. That is why Christianity can do sexist things like refuse to have female bishops, or women RC priests. If you don't agree with this, you should criticise the exemption for all religions from sex discrimination legislation.

you would be accommodating two people when you employed one. You would be responsible for a staff member's chaperone. That would be like bringing your child to work in my view. In my last job there were areas were non staff were not allowed into. And a chaperone would not be staff.

In a shop how would a chaperone work? Woild she follow the womsn around the store as she unpacked merchandise or stand next to her at the till. Would she need a staff uniform? Would dhe be forbidden ftom interacting with customers in sny way? Would there be any security implications in terms of the chaperone being around money and stock or in back store areas? Serms like a huge can of worms.

I really shouldn't even open threads on employment issues started in AIBU. They are always full of people making sweeping statements as if they are actual legal fact with clearly absolutely no basis for doing so.

"A member of staff can be let go in the first 2 years for any reason or none......." - NO. There are clear exceptions, including if the dismissal (or constructive dismissal) is completely or partly for a discriminatory reason, including religion.

"If a potential employee has particular needs they want addressing then they're obliged to mention this at interview" NO. There is no specific obligation to do so. Obviously it wouldn't help an employee's case of discrimination if they hadn't previously felt their request was important enough to raise, but circumstances might explain that and the simple fact that they didn't raise it earlier doesn't mean the employer's obligations are less.

"there is no religious/legal onus on you, only a moral one, of being as nice as you can practically be without hurting your business and your duty of care to the other 11 employees". NO. There is a legal obligation if someone makes a request like this on religious grounds, to consider it and make adjustments to accommodate it if reasonably practicable. The fact that not everyone of that religion would make the same request doesn't change that.

I'm all for reasonably accommodating religious requests, but this is a) unreasonable and b) doubtful as to whether there is any basis in religion- it sounds more cultural to me.

Actually I don't think a chaperone would be as big a deal as some are making out. A chaperone would have to arrange their own insurance, and then just hang round the shop. If the employee was going to the storeroom, the male employee and the chaperone could stay in the shop.

The chaperone doesnt need to be with the woman all the time, just make sure the woman isnt left alone with a man.

And if the chaperone was off ill, not your problem. You are allowing the employee to arrange a chaperone. If they cant arrange one, they have to work and that may be alone with a male employee.

Yes it would be an unusual situation in the UK, but workable. In terms of other staff requests, you make it clear that this is because of religious legislation and that clearly doesnt apply to bring your wife to work wishes.

Sex discrimination in this case trumps the imagined religious discrimination which is this womans own choosing.

I would imagine the OP would have taken legal advice now and the said employee will be half way out of the door with only her morals as company.

I can't see how this would work, as others have said. You could do your best to pair her with other female employees but what if the only staff available is male? However, I wouldn't even go that far. I would politely answer back in a letter that it's not a request that you can accomodate. I am not even sure if I'd go as far as stating the reasons why, as this could open a can of worms. A kind but firm no would be my answer. Unless you want to check if there are any precedents in this country?

The idea of a chaperone is an interesting suggestion, but not practical at all.

Bom - There is religious grounds for this. Islam has many branches, just like Christianity.

And it can only legally be dismissed as unreasonable if the employer can show that they can not reasonably accomodate the request.

And be aware, going to an industrial tribunal if an employee lodges a case, si very expensive and time consuming for a small business. So it is important to do everything by the law and ignore those here who havent a clue what they are talking about.