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.

Friday is the day off where my relies are.

I can see it would work OK some of the time. But not always.

The list goes on, there was that Christian registrar who refused to conduct civil partnership ceremonies. Des anyone remember what happened with that in the end?

You have to change tills! Wow, that's very very difficult for ciustomers in a rush. I would change tills if they paid me something like £50 for my time but I don't expect to queue for ages at M&S and find that the assistant does not approve of her employer's products and is not prepared to supply an infidel prepared to buy them.

I suppose if it gave me a chance to lecture the girl about what damage she does to the planet and women through espousing Muslim sexist beliefs then we might do some good with it.

So if the girl says I cannot sell you alcohol will you queue for another 20 minutes over there you says ( a) I want £50 for my time and (b) give her a lecture on the sexism and damage wrought to the planet by her religion and hand her a booklet against the killing of animals by Jews and Muslims and the methods used I suppose. That might make things fair.

We could also set up a website where every M&S customer who is made to re-queue posts about their experiences and names the staff member causing this loss and damage.

Shift swapping goes on at my work to help accommodate people who need family time - so a Muslim colleague may offer work Xmas day/boxing day and will try to swap out days which are important to them.

In the NHS medics can opt out of counselling or arranging or participating in terminations out of conscience and another colleague will deal with it. There was a case where two nurses tried to opt out of arranging care for women post -abortion but they lost their case.

As others have said changing the roster to suit certain people means that others get treated badly. That's not really a solution is it.

The only way to be fair is offer a job that has certain requirements and if anyone has a problem with that they can apply for a different job. No one should even need to say what religion they are when applying for a job.

There was uproar when a chemist refused to provide the contraceptive pill.

I imagine the reality is that episodes of Muslim staff not wanting to handle pork or booze will hardly ever happen.

If it impacts on sales (which I doubt) then M&S will drop it sharpish as food is their only area where they always make good profit. They can't risk affecting that.

This doesn't make sense. If they had to handle meat on the butchery counter I can see where they are coming from but to be able to refuse to serve someone with cellophane covered meat is taking things too far. They aren't being forced to eat it, or even serve it in a restaurant. What is the religious angle on pork anyway? Is it that you just can't eat it or touch it or be within so many feet of it? Not being facetious, I just don't know the rule.
What about pre-packed ham sandwiches and bacon flavoured crisps, where do you draw the line?

LOL @ idea of return imposing of views & beliefs

Surely the only way it will work (if signs aren't acceptable and I see why they wouldn't be) is for someone to escort the customer to another till (ie open one specially) so they don't have to queue again. If I experienced this and was told I had to re-queue I would be leaving my shopping unpurchased at the till.

foil packs are food condom, nothing gets transferred despite the amount of handling.

Pit of Stupid can be applied

Fanjo

the OP linked the to telegraph not DM

Aside from everything else, it'll just make it harder for muslims to get these jobs now.

I'm a vegetarian, so I wouldn't work in an abattoir, a feminist so I wouldn't work in the sex industry, an agnostic so I wouldn't work for an Evangelical organisation...I accept that my beliefs limit my job opportunities.
I wonder if there will be objections and accusations of discrimination if Muslims who are unable to handle certain products because of their beliefs are relegated to areas of M&S with goods they can touch.

I don't think it's been thought through to be honest. Yes if course people should have their beliefs catered for but this is something that is going to be nigh on impossible. It's not just a case of having to bag up your shopping and pay for your sausages at the kiosk. Although if you have no cash and there's a minimum card payment your screwed for one item. All the cakes, margarines sweets, gateaux, crisps, sandwiches, salads, vitamin tablets/medication, could all potentially contain gelatin or pork products. That's a large percentage of products that the staff ergo can't comfortably sell. If they are icing to provide staff to jump on and finish the transactions then fine but that basically means that someone has to stand by the till the whole time. If they are going to do this then there is no PC non offensive way to make sure that the customers are aware not to use that till, and the staff member is basically left open to abuse if no one is there to take over.

I said on the other thread that it's more than possible they weren't even hired for the tills but had to cover last minute or get left high and dry when supervisors take their brahes or disappear from the shop floor. It's unfair to put the staff in that position surely?

M&S will need tills labelled as such, so people know before they start queuing.

I guessed that a cashier was Muslim/Jewish once by the way she handled some pork, it was like it was poo the face she was making and the way she handled it.

The thing is you won't know who is Muslim by the looks of them, so how will we as customers know who is Muslim or not, as I don't want to waste my time and getting to the till to discover they won't handle the pork.

I really hope people don't actively avoid someone who may look like what they think a 'typical muslim' looks like.

No, they are going to have to label the tills.
This till is staffed by a Muslim, please choose another checkout if you have any pork, pork byproducts or alcohol in your shopping.

I don't actively avoid anyone at tills. unless dressed in a clown suit

I don't care who serves me , why would I, but admittedly if I'm buying products that they are uncomfortable serving me (which is their right obviously) then I wouldn't want to have to queue again.

I would however blame the shop, not the staff.

I believe this is an exaggerated story. I suspect M and S have just said no Muslim would be expected to handle pork and meat if they didn't want to for religious reasons. I would suspect they wouldn't force a Christian to work Sunday for religious reasons either etc. they may even extend it to vegetarians and meat.

I would think if a Muslim, vegetarian etc had preferences they would be working in a different department - I cannot see m and s deliberately holding up queues just to make a point.

They need the business for a start!

I'm a vegetarian, so I wouldn't work in an abattoir, a feminist so I wouldn't work in the sex industry, an agnostic so I wouldn't work for an Evangelical organisation...I accept that my beliefs limit my job opportunities.

I think it all comes down to this. If your beliefs are something that would interfere with your chosen profession/job, then you need to choose a different profession/job. I just can't imagine saying "well, I can't do this or this and they are a major part of my job, but I'm going to insist that they let me do the job anyway, just not THAT part of my job."

I do, however, feel that if people can opt out of a particular job aspect due to religion, then prospective employers should be able to ask everyone during interviews if they have any religious beliefs that may interfere with their job or require adjustments to their job, as it involves potential job performance.

Urgh.

And I agree with those posters that say this is most likely not going to be a common occurrence anyway.

No it isn't, but te story alone will lead to staff at supermarkets being constantly avoided or asked about it.

Whoever decided to go to the papers is an idiot. They should have stuck to presumably their plan of action to accommodate any staff without causing them any difficulties