Religion Information
The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations December 2003 offer
protection for workers in all aspects of the employment relationship, including
recruitment, pay, working conditions, training, promotion, dismissal and references.
Discrimination based on religion or belief can be less overt and a much more subtle
than other forms of discrimination. Defining what constitutes a religion is therefore
central to any legislation. Factors such as dress restrictions, working on religious
days/holidays, ignorance of religious customs, recruitment, application and promotion
practices all represent contentious issues for religious communities. Jews and Sikhs,
for example, are protected by both the Race Relations Act and the new religious
discrimination legislation. New Religious Movements (NRMs) such as Paganism are
also covered.
Religious Discrimination in the workplace
Several religious organisations
report unfair treatment in employment whether through direct or indirect discrimination,
harassment or victimization. Examples include:
- Dress restrictions (Muslims, Sikhs)
- Working on religious days or holidays (Christians, Jews, Pagans)
- Lack of respect and ignorance of religious customs (Hindus, Jews, Muslims)
- Application and recruitment practices (Christians, Muslims, NRMs, Sikhs)
- Promotion prospects (Sikhs)
However, only 2 % of the British public believes employers discriminate over religion
or belief (British Social Attitudes Survey 2001).
Facts & Figures
Belonging to a religion 2001, England & Wales: (Office for National Statistics)
- Christian - 71.7 %
- Muslim - 3 %
- Hindu - 1.1 %
- Sikh - 0.6 percent
- Jewish - 0.5 %
- Buddhist - 0.3 %
- Other - 0.3 %
Business Case for Diversity
If employees are exposed to discrimination:
- A company's reputation can be damaged both as an employer and as a business.
- Considerable expense of recruitment/training, to replace leaving staff.
- Cost of compensation (and there is no upper limit) if a member of staff takes a
complaint to an employee tribunal.
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