Jewish Sabbath and Religious Discrimination

A Manchester Tribunal awarded £16,000 in damages to an unsuccessful job applicant who was rejected because she could not work on Saturdays

The Jewish sabbath (‘shabbat’) prohibits work from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday, however, the Respondent is a travel agency and wanted an employee who could be more flexible with hours.

Employers who operate practices that disadvantage applicants or employees because of their religion or belief face indirect discrimination claims, however, this is not the end of the story.

Often indirect discrimination can be justified and if individual cases are handed sensibly and carefully, this kind of liability (and the associated negative publicity) can be avoided.