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.

I'm
Not sure there will be any experiences of what the report says. But I think there well could now be staff experiencing a lot of ridicule or active avoidence or deliberate attempts to offend etc

Defuse, I'm not going to get into an argument with you here, suffice to say that the farm animal welfare council and the British veterinary association have both condemned it.

Interesting that you belittle my perfectly valid belief though .

giles , quite possibly yes.

The other issue will be of course in these very small number of incidents , the management if the situation. Theoretically it shouldnt be an issue. A company so willing to accommodate religious beliefs sounds wonderful doesn't it? Somewhere people feel respected and "looked after". One would assume somewhere so accommodating would have assistants all ready to leap in to relieve the cashier if need be. However, the reality of retail is that no one is ever where they are supposed to be, people piss off fir fags whenever they feel like it regardless of how busy it is and despite being short staffed people still have to "floor walk" even with huge queues at the till. That is what's going to be the inevitable problem! The fact that there is no one to step in and help.

And of course it ONLY takes nice and that's it :(

Once

I expect this won't mean much in reality. I've been served by people on M&S who I am thought were Moslem (women in headscarf at least) without issue.

In principle though, I think it's ludicrous.

I cannot fathom how someone's sky god telling them they cannot do X means I ought to do X on their behalf. I cannot fathom how someone's sky god telling them that they cannot work on Y day means I am more likely to work on Y day. But then I don't work in that environment. I work in an environment where having kids is likely to be both top trumps for flexibility and career suicide longterm. I can't stand any of it. I wish flexibility was something that could be considered based on individuals factors, not just those that fall into anti-discrimination legislation.

Just made the headlines of the Bbc news.

If I was told by a cashier that I couldn't buy an item off them, can I just plonk down the money, say "sorry, you've already sold it to me", and leave with my champagne/sausages? At what point does the cashier have the right to prevent the transaction between me and their employer?

Of course it's a storm in a teacup. It looks very much like some stressed out manager out the employee on the tills because it was busy and didn't think through the consequence. It sounds like all the retailers have the sensible policy of putting staff who won't sell alcohol or pork in a department where it just won't come up as as issue. That's obviously best for everyone.

That said, it does illustrate that staff with these restrictions can't be on a till because it seems that even calling a supervisor over for the relevant bit (as you would if the cashier were 17) doesn't seem to get round the issue. It really isn't reasonable to put anyone in the position where they're telling customers that they'll need to queue again at another till because their religion forbids something. There's a big difference between having to queue again and waiting a minute for a supervisor to wave your transaction through.

Could this mean that muslim staff get cushy bakery and clothing jobs whilst the others stack food shelves and do tills.

Really if your religion limits you from the extent of the job you should look for work elsewhere.

Imagine being the only non-Muslim on shift and being stuck with lugging great chunks of frozen pork into the shop freezers all night whilst the Muslims titivate the book displays. FIIIIIIIIIGHT!

Shelf stacker is a completely different role and times from shop floor assistant.

Really if your religion limits you from the extent of the job you should look for work elsewhere

In all fairness we don't know that the staff member wasn't usually assigned to a different department or from another store that doesn't sell food and then just "dumped" on the tills in the food hall.

Religion should be left at the door of the workplace. We shouldn't pander to religious "requirements" of any kind. That's equality.

To do otherwise opens a huge can of worms. Do you allow members of staff an almost arbitrary variation of their employment contract? Methodists don't have to handle alcohol, mormons coffee & tea, Catholics condoms, Jews pork & shellfish?

And what would happen if a member of staff decided their religion prevented them serving a homosexual customer? Well, I suppose he/she could wait until another staff member was around? No, it's madness.

This isn't the same as working on a Sabbath or not. This is allowing staff to demand changes to their job based on what their sky-daddy says. M&S can do without my custom until this issue gets clarified.

One of the commentators on the BBC site pointed out that the employee's wages are tainted as they come from a shop that sells alcohol, pork products and credit cards with interest being charged.
Bit like charities investing in the arms business, or Nestle.

Or like the Archbishop of Canterbury starting a campaign against payday loans and then discovering that his own church has invested in them.

fine but have a floating member on the tills who could put stuff through so customers don't have to re queue. as long as I know. it is a bit though and a bit ott.

I really dont know why we are going into details about manning tills in certain ways, organising shifts etc.

If you work in a supermarket you have to sell the food. You are an employee of that company. If you dont like what they sell - then dont work there. Shops now are down to the wire on staff without all of this nonsense.

I live near Slough and last year a Muslim working in a very large supermarket in the warehouse refused to move crates of beer. He was let go at the end of his trial period and took them to court. Claimed that when he took the role he didnt realise that the supermarket sold alcohol!

Fortunately he lost, but what a waste of time.

good, I bet he did know.

I am sure he knew too!

He made it all about his supposed religious beliefs (yawn) and the fact he had been picked on because he was a Muslim.

I have spent a considerable length of time in Bradford over the last few years and Sharia Law IS used for low level cases. The authorities turn a blind eye. Personally I dont think they should. Sharia Law doesnt really favour women and their rights.

Octavius, it's exactly the same as refusing to work on the sabbath. Don't take a job where people have to work weekends if you want to keep the sabbath. Why should others have to cover for people who do that?

Seriously, whats the number of Muslims who are employed by m&s? And what percentage of those Muslims who work on the tills would be arsed about making a hoo-haa over touching pork and alcohol. Who are m&s "protecting" here? Half a dozen very embarrassed Muslims?

In retail if you cannot work a Saturday you are unlikely to be offered anything..

We have become too politically correct over this. I think people would have more respect if M&S just said that they expect all their staff to SELL their goods and services.