• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Call us now: 01243 836 840   [email protected]
Pure Employment Law
  • Who We Are
    • Nicola Brown
    • Peter Stevens
    • Elena Elsam
    • David Jones
    • Linda Nye
    • Brenda Cherry
  • For Employers
    • Advice on HR and People issues
    • Investigations, Hearings and Appeals
    • Restructuring and Redundancy
    • Defending Employment Tribunal Claims
    • Dismissal of Senior Executives
    • Contracts, Handbooks and Policies
    • Employment Law Training
  • For Employees
    • Settlement Agreements
    • Workplace Issues including Disciplinary and Grievance
    • Bringing an Employment Tribunal Claim
  • Employment Law Events
  • Legal Updates
  • Testimonials
  • Vacancies
  • Contact us
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Like a prayer – employees attending religious festivals

27th February 2017/in News /by Nicola Brown

Holiday requests from employees are usually straightforward, but sometimes difficulties can arise. For example, what about an employee requesting a lengthy period of time off? Most employers limit holiday to no more than two consecutive weeks at a time, unless agreed otherwise on occasions.

The added complication can be where a request for holiday is linked to a “protected characteristic” under the Equality Act 2010 (the “protected characteristics” being age, disability, sex, race, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, marriage or civil partnership status, and religious or philosophical belief), as this can lead to discrimination claims if the request is refused. The most pertinent issue that crops up here is when requests are made by employees for holiday so that they can attend or recognise a religious festival, or a specific religious occasion which is important to the employee’s faith.

This issue was grappled with recently in the case of Gareddu v London Underground Ltd (2016). Mr Gareddu is a practising Roman Catholic from Sardinia. In August each year, he returns to Sardinia, where his family lives, to be with them and attend religious festivals. Between 2009 and 2013, London Underground permitted him to take five consecutive weeks’ annual leave in order to be able to attend those religious festivals. In 2014, a new manager was appointed, who refused permission for five consecutive weeks’ off. Mr Gareddu brought a claim of indirect discrimination on the grounds of his religious belief, arguing that attendance with his family at the festivals is a fundamental manifestation of his religious belief.

To establish indirect discrimination, an individual has to demonstrate to an Employment Tribunal that a provision, criteria or practice (a “PCP”) which is applied to all workers in a particular group creates a disadvantage for him or her (and potentially others who share the same or similar religion or belief). In other words, Mr Gareddu had to demonstrate that the practice of refusing five consecutive weeks’ off caused him a disadvantage. Even if a disadvantage is proved, an employer can defend such a claim if it can prove that the PCP is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. This could be reasons such as allowing the time-off causing operational difficulties within a business.

The Employment Tribunal who heard the case accepted that attendance at religious festivals could be a manifestation of a religious belief, and by extension, refusing to allow an employee to attend could cause a person with a religious belief to be disadvantaged. However, the Employment Tribunal did not accept that the five-week period requested by Mr Gareddu to attend 17 specific festivals was related to manifestation of his religious belief, as he determined what festivals to attend in discussion with his family. During evidence given by him, it became apparent that he had not attended the same 17 festivals every year, despite initially claiming that he had. This had not gone down particularly well with the Employment Tribunal, who said that his assertion that his religious belief required him to attend a specific set of festivals over a five-week period was not made in good faith.

The Employment Tribunal therefore dismissed his claim on the basis that the choice of which festivals to attend was a matter of family arrangement rather than religious belief. Mr Gareddu appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT), but he was not successful in his appeal. The EAT upheld the decision of the Employment Tribunal.

This case is not a basis for employers to refuse to grant any holiday requests for employees to attend religious festivals, particularly where this only is for a short-period of time and allowing the time off is therefore unlikely to create any operational difficulties. Employers still have an obligation to consider any such request and make reasonable efforts to accommodate it, unless it can be shown that refusal of a request is proportionate. The claim failed in this case due to some very specific facts that came out in the evidence provided. If Mr Gareddu had been able to demonstrate that he had attended all 17 festivals for many years, the Employment Tribunal would then have had to hear evidence from London Underground as to whether they could objectively justify the refusal.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission Code of Practice gives guidance to assist employers in regard to what could be reasonably accommodated within the workplace when it comes to religion and belief. The Code says that “manifestations of a religion or belief could include treating certain days as days for worship or rest; following a certain dress code; following a particular diet; or carrying out or avoiding certain practices” and advises employers to accommodate such matters wherever it is reasonably practicable to do so.

If you would like to talk through a situation you are dealing with, or if you need advice on any aspect of employment law, please contact any member of the Pure Employment Law team (01243 836840 or [email protected]).

Please note that this update is not intended to be exhaustive or be a substitute for legal advice. The application of the law in this area will often depend upon the specific facts and you are advised to seek specific advice on any given scenario.
Share this article
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://www.pureemploymentlaw.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Pure-Employment-Law-logo.jpg 0 0 Nicola Brown https://www.pureemploymentlaw.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Pure-Employment-Law-logo.jpg Nicola Brown2017-02-27 16:57:132017-11-23 15:19:34Like a prayer – employees attending religious festivals

Join our mailing list

* = required field
Mailing Lists


Recent Legal Updates

  • FAQs about COT3s 18th December 2020
  • Can an employer withdraw a notice of redundancy? 18th December 2020
  • Will employers be able to insist that staff have the Covid-19 vaccination? 18th December 2020
  • Furlough over Christmas? 18th December 2020
  • Update – Furlough scheme extended 18th December 2020
Link to: Contact Us

Any questions? Why not get in touch!

Our advice is always given in plain English without any waffle, and we focus on providing practical solutions to our clients’ problems.

Contact us

LEGAL INFORMATION

Pure Employment Law | 1 Little London, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1PH
[email protected] | Tel: 01243 836840

Pure Employment Law is the trading name of Pure Employment Law Limited, registered in England and Wales with company number 07134294 and whose registered office is 1 Little London, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1PH. Pure Employment Law Limited is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with registration number 533794. A list of the company’s directors is available for inspection at the registered office

DISCLAIMER

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by Pure Employment Law and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions | How to make a complaint | Sitemap

© Pure Employment Law 2021

Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies as defined in our cookie policy.

Accept Cookie Policy

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Other cookies

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy Policy
Accept settingsHide notification only