M&S cashiers can refuse to handle pork and alcohol

[HermioneWeasley]

www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10532782/Muslim-staff-at-Marks-and-Spencer-can-refuse-to-sell-alcohol-and-pork.html

I would be extremely annoyed at being held up by someone refusing to "handle" alcohol and pork. After all, the stuff is either in bottles or cellophane so it's not coming into direct contact.

Personally, I wouldn't have this policy, but if m&S think it's reasonable to refuse, why not put employees who object in a different part of the store, instead of inconveniencing customers?

And before cries of racism and Islamaphobia start, my family are Muslim (though I am not) and would have no problem with putting bottles and packs through a checkout.

Seems a bit odd. Loads of stuff has booze and pork products in, maybe M&S should improve their labelling so that customers know which aisles they can use.

Like Duchesse I think that people who do jobs, who know in advance what the job involves, shouldn't really do it if they know they can't do some aspects of it. The one that really pisses me off is when GPs snottily tell you that they won't prescribe you with contraceptives.

Tabard, seriously? I have never had a GP that wouldn't prescribe contraceptives, that is shocking.

Agree there is hidden pork and booze in all kinds of products, I bet the cashiers won't notice the half of it, unless the till flags it up. Which makes it even more ridiculous.

It's hardly a catastrophe if someone asks a colleague to come and put through your alcohol. .as 17 year old M and S staff do already.

The Islamophobia on M and S Facebook page is scary in response to this...just because Daily Mail published a story today.

Bit depressing to read more of the same outraged responses on MN in response to this non issue.

It annoys me how these supposed religious beliefs trump anyone elses.

Vegetarians are still made to handle meat.

There's no mention of Jewish people only handing kosher.

I suspect most Muslim people wouldn't be bothered in the slightest about swiping pork and alcohol, its yet another thing to fuel hatred and cause segregation.

It's not just the alcohol, is it? It's all kinds of other stuff.

And it's one thing protecting underage staff from drink (actually that's silly too but it's the law) and quite another thing to have this sort of rule.

I disagree that there is any islamaphobia in my responses and I am insulted you would say so. I disagreed just as much with the Christian suggesting she ought to have sundays off. You can say I am an atheist if you like, that's perfectly true.

People posting about "pandering to them and upsetting ordinary British people " etc and "it'll be sharia law here next" and that "Muslims should go home to their own countries" appals me far more than needing to wait 1 min to buy some wine.

Don't get suckered in.

It can't be true, really - has to be a hoax?

My religious relatives from the ME, (living in an Islamic country, good muslims, etc) have bought me bottles of wine (because they know that I like wine). Not bacon/ham, but I am veggie.

I said there was Islamophobia on the M and S page. .do read what I posted before getting outraged

I think shops should not make that kind of allowances as it is divisive - where do you stop? What if someone of a different faith refused to handle Halal meat? Or Kosher products? It would go on and on and on, then what, segregation for certain religions? Could Christian shoppers use tills 4-5 and Muslims 6-7, atheists tills 8-9-10?

Fanjo, we are not all about to get suckered in to UKIP, don't be so patronising. We are allowed to say that this is bonkers without being accused of islamaphobia. It's not a binary system: accept anything at all vs Planet Daily Mail.

I would expect the majority of normal sensible people of all religious views to think that this is daft.

Although in this day and age of 24/7 opening hours and highly sophisticated software, it's perfectly possible to roster the right staff on the right days, ensuring that staff of the right religion are off on the right days for them.

Fanjo, you said the MN responses were "the same".

Duchesse, of course it is possible to do the spreadsheet, as long as the staff without special protection don't mind never getting their weekends off because someone has to do it.

M and S have said they try to accommodate any employees religious beliefs.

The Mail have leapt on it and created a big hookah about a supposed new policy.

Which doesn't even exist.

People who don't think this is fuelling Islamphobia. .One of the people threatening to boycott M and S over this had as his profile pic a picture of a nuclear cloud with words "Islam is a cancer. Cancer needs cured by radiation".

Please don't fall for all those divisive nonsense in the media.

I find the ME responses pretty depressing the but yes at least not howling about boycotting M and S..yet.

Mn not ME. Having massive phone issues just now

Fanjo, you are spending too much time reading the woo extremists. One bonkers saddo with a picture of Hiroshima hardly represents the discussion here.

Any response which starts "where will this end" is well into Daily Mail and UKIP territory IMO

Not woo extremists..well they are but it was just posts on M and S Facebook page.

Hoped to read on here that people thought the outcry was shocking but sadly not.

It wasn't one saddo but many posts full of hatred

Like "these religious beliefs trump everyone elses"

WTF.

Small step from that to the posts I read about "pandering to Muslims to the detriment of normal British people.

It is policies like this one at M&S that fuel Islamophobia imo. Just how hard would it be to put a Mulism who doesn't want to sell pork and alcohol on refilling the fruit and veg?

I do think if you can't do the job you awe contracted to do, then you should look elsewhere. I, for example, couldn't lift a 15bottle crate of beer so I would be useless on a checkout, therefore I have never applied to do the job.

I said my piece.

Hope at least one person actually thinks about this and doesn't make knee jerk outraged response.

I see not though.

Can they refuse to touch Percy Pig sweets... seriously as they contain pork gelatin or sherry trifle etc etc... there are lots of things that contain pork derivatives or alcohol in small amounts. What lengths are the cashiers allowed to take this to?
I would consider any muslim who interpreted the Koran as saying do not touch pork/percy pigs etc even in the packaging (or you will get your hands chopped off) as being fairly radical. Surely there will be very few muslims who feel the need to go to these lengths in the name of their religion... also if they couldn't touch bacon in the wrapper but could touch percy pigs or other gelatin containing sweets or chocolate mousse, I would say this was a tad hypocritical.