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?

Russianblue you are exaggerating out of all proportion. This is an extremely unusual request and one which can only be accommodated by causing practical staffing difficulties for the employer and may well lead to dissatisfaction amongst the other staff who see one member getting special treatment. Why should her request be granted but another impractical request not founded on a faith basis be refused?

Someone said the feelings of the other staff don't matter; well actually they do.

But whatever her reasons may be (& for a lot of us the hurty finger is just as valid as the religious argument, to be frank) - she's requesting an accommodation which buggers other people about to a degree that may not be reasonable.

what if I work with her, & I have perfectly good reasons of my own not to want to work next Thursday, which is no problem as our workmate Ben is more than happy to swap shifts with me - it suits him too - oh but hang on, now that can't happen? I'd be pissed off & so would Ben!

The only question for this thread is whether her employer can or should reasonably accommodate her request. I think that seems unlikely, given the size of the company, & the employer's responsibilities to treat other staff fairly, but as her employer I'd be taking legal advice on it.

Of course it is ridiculous to take on a weekend job and then complain about working weekends. I don't remember reading anywhere that the girl was told in the interview that she would have to work alone with men. If that is the case then she is being unreasonable in her request. There have been a lot of replies to this thread and I haven't scrutinised every one for all the details nor have I retained everything that has been said so far. Myself, I don't see the request as wildly unusual and I have no idea if its illegal. It would be different if she had said, can you make sure I'm not working with any foreigners/disabled people/people who look like chavs or whatever but she has made a request which is part of her religion.

I think I just don't like your fairly harsh attitude to people who try to uphold their religious beliefs or have ideas different to yours, you seem to pass them off as a load of nonsense not worth bothering with.
Yes, she made a request and it doesn't have to be accepted. She s probably just trying to earn a living and live her life in the best way she can. I am surprised at how many people assume she has a nasty man/men in her life telling her to make the request. Isn't that quite a stereotypical assumption of the poor downtrodden Muslim female? If it was like that she wouldn't be working in the first place. I imagine she just innocently made the request off her own back. If she is a reasonable person she will surely understand why her request cant be fulfilled. If she becomes a pain in the neck about it then she is the silly one.

She isn't asking that men aren't allowed to work, she just requested that she isn't alone with one while working.

One employee's superstitions are not the problem of the other employees. That's all.
I do agree with you that 'Sarah' has the right to ask if her preferences can be accommodated. But if (as the OP has explained) it's not possible to oblige her without upsetting, inconveniencing and discriminating against other staff, then 'Sarah' can either work when she's assigned to or go fuck herself.

I'm not exaggerating anything and it isn't an extremely unusual request, it just isn't usual for some of you.

Russian so aside from the fact the male employee is male what is the ground? None except he is a man. How is that not discriminatory? The situation here is not one where exceptions can legitimately be made on gender grounds.

The point about not being able to swap shifts is well made. In a group of 12 workers the knock on effect of 1 refusing to work alone with, I think, it was 1/4 of the staff doesn't just affect her.

I think its just your tone Solid, I don't see the need to swear and I certainly find it offensive that you decide that someone's religious beliefs are superstition. Anyway, you keep your opinions and I will keep mine. Goodnight.

unfortunately coercion of Muslim women by their male relatives over issues like this is not as uncommon as you may like to think. We can't all live in cloud cuckoo land.

Whatever the motivation, allowing individuals to dictate other people's working habits is not a reasonable adjustment for an employer to make. As well as being a renegade step for women - our right to participate in society without being subject to segregation has been hard-won and should be upheld - and an insult to the male employees.

Russiando you seriously expect at a job interview to be told "oh must warn you, you might find yourself working alone with a male colleague" As if that doesn't happen in just about every workplace at some time. Why on earth in the UK would that be considered remotely unusual?

Not liking SGB's tone is ok but preventing a man from working because of a religious silliness (Which really is misogyny) is OK ?

It's also a matter (as far as the OP, in so much as s/he has posted here, is concerned) of a duty of fairness to all employees. It looks as though there is a likelihood of OP being in a situation of having to say to 'Fred' (hypothetical male employee) - 'You can't work your assigned shift because it's at the same time as 'Sarah' is working and she can't/won't work with a man.' If it's not possible for OP to offer 'Fred' another shift that he can work, given his personal obligations, whatever they are, and 'Fred' is expected to go home and lose a day's pay to accomodate 'Sarah' then Fred could have grounds to sue for discrimination as well.

No I don't expect to be told at interview stage that you may be expected to work alone with a man. I was replying to something someone said, thanks.
RussianBlu: so how much inconvenience and extra work do you think other employees should be prepared to put up with to accomodate one colleague who doesn't want to perform a task that was a) explained as a necessary part of the job at interview stage and b) isn't illegal or wildly unusual?
I simply said I don't remember reading that the op said it was explained as a necessary part of the job interview stage.

The OP would have made it clear how many staff work on the premises at any given time and 'Sarah' has worked there for four months - long enough to be aware of shift patterns.

Wouldn't it be highly unusual not to work with a man in the workplace?

Another person who thinks its a religious silliness. It may be silly to you, but for millions of people around the world it isn't. I am sure she doesn't mind working in an environment where for example there are other males and females around, she just doesn't want to be on a shift where she and 1 other man will be alone in a room I imagine. I am not going to say anymore on the subject as it seems lots of you just want to brush it of as religious silliness and don't want to even try to understand things from someone else's point of view. It is also totally different to saying you would prefer not to do something just because you don't like it or don't feel like it. She is trying to live according to her religion as far as she can. She isn't going to get very far if she is surrounded by people who don't want to know about it.

If Sarah has only been there for 4 months maybe this is the first time she has been brave enough to make the request. Highly unlikely she would ask at interview.

She's affecting others by her choices.

When her choices start having a negative impact on those around her,

That's wrong.

Russian would you be so supportive of a man saying he did not want to work alone with a woman as that offended his religious views?

Good question, Lizzie!
Anyway, the fact that religion is stupid bullshit anyway is not that relevant. It's a matter of giving people equal treatment - if someone was whining about having to work in the same room as someone who supported a rival football team, should an employer be expected to accomodate that? Bear in mind that football teams are very important to some people and there is no logical reason whatsover why loyalty to a football team should give you fewer rights than loyalty to a mythology.

Football isn't like religion.

It's FAR more important.

I find it very difficult to have any respect or sympathy for the suggestion it is impossible for a man and a woman to work together on their own the employee has not said it is impossible (and neither has the koran), merely that according to her religious belief she would prefer not to be working alone with a male.

Certain religions despise homosexuality - do you think I should respect that as well? No. And i haven't said that, what i'm saying is that the employee has made a request and that request/person should be handled/treated with the same respect and consideration that you would give anyone else. You don't have to agree with someone else's opinion in order to treat them with the same civility/respect that you would want to be treated with.

caruthers
She's affecting others by her choices.
When her choices start having a negative impact on those around her,
That's wrong

yea....so do women who go off on maternity leave and expect their colleagues/employers/taxpayer to cover their work and fund their lifestyle choice...and not just once but over and over again....how is that ok? yet it is accepted and those 'special snowflakes' (to quote another poster) have their lifestyle choices protected by law despite the fact that it is sexist and discriminatory towards others-in the workplace and in wider society.

In my opinion pregnancy (A human necessity) and religion (Not fading as fast as I would like) are completely different things.

Not being able to be alone with a man because it might offend a mythical headshaker is absurd.

Pregnancy on the other hand isn't absurd and is a beautiful thing.

and just to point out....the majority of muslim women actually choose how to interpret and practice their religion...they are not forced. If you find that difficult to get your heads around then look at it like this....they do this in the same way that the majority of Catholic women choose how to interpret and practice their faith...