The holy month of Ramadan, celebrated by thousands across the UK, is due to start on or around the 2nd of April. During this time, Muslims abstain from eating or drinking during daylight hours, doing so only at sunrise and sunset. For many, this sounds like an almost impossible test of self-control and strength.
For practicing Muslims Ramadan can be gruelling, especially during working hours in the relatively warm month of April. As a manager there are several things you can do to make life easier for your employees.
Some people will ask for time off during Ramadan, while others prefer to keep working. This can present challenges for the office, especially as the days begin to draw longer at this time of year.
Employees who are fasting will invariably feel tired and fatigued, which can affect their concentration, productivity, and performance. You can accommodate this by implementing flexible working hours. Talk to your employees and come to a suitable arrangement for you both.
Religion is one of the nine protected characteristics in The Equality Act 2010. It is important not to penalise Muslim employees for any loss of productivity during this time as to do so would be seen as discriminatory.
It may be that your employees prefer to start work earlier during Ramadan so they can go home earlier or take longer lunch breaks to have more time to rest. Ideally, you should provide a private space in which to do this, where they can also go to pray at certain times throughout the day. You should consider holding meetings earlier in the day.
Be considerate when scheduling meetings. It’s not inclusive to require employees who are fasting to attend lunch meetings or sit in a room full of people who are eating. This also goes for social or client-facing activities outside the workplace or out of working hours. It is important to be sensitive to this and ensure your employees don’t suffer any negative consequences as a result, which would almost certainly be considered discrimination.
It’s also important to consider the health and safety of your employees who are fasting. It’s possible that their concentration and productivity could be affected during the month of Ramadan so you may need to look at alternative roles during this time, for instance if they operate heavy machinery or are responsible for the safety of others, i.e. train driver or pilot.
Some employees may request time off over Ramadan. Again, there are lots of factors to consider here, but it’s important to remember that you cannot turn down a holiday request on religious grounds. As the timing of Ramadan is based around the lunar calendar, you may get last minute requests for annual leave.
It is not always possible to grant holiday requests to everyone who requests them, as giving everyone the same time off can affect business operations and lead to staffing problems. If this happens, you should have a discussion with the employees affected and establish a fair system of granting holidays that works for all parties.
If it is not possible to grant leave, this conversation needs to be dealt with sensitively and carefully.
In some cases, employees may choose not to come to work if their leave request was refused. If this happens, you should have an investigation into the reasons why and take any appropriate disciplinary action.
All employers should have clear policies around religious holidays, so all employees know what to expect and what is expected of them.
Diversity and inclusion are the cornerstones of the modern workplace, and everyone should feel welcome.
This means you cannot make allowances or give preferential treatment to one religious group over another. If one group is given time off to celebrate their religious festival, other employees may claim discrimination if they have not been afforded the same treatment. Everyone must be treated equally.
Communication is key. Don’t assume that every Muslim employee will be observing Ramadan by fasting or that those who are fasting will want accommodations made for them.
Make it easy for your employees to talk to you and ask respectful questions to understand how you can best support employees who are fasting.
Look to accommodate employees as far as possible and inform everyone of the policies that you have in place. This helps ensure you have an inclusive working environment with motivated employees, as well as with preventing discriminatory behaviours.
