Religious discrimination examples
- A Muslim worker goes for a promotion at work. They have good experience and would be a good fit for the job. The hiring manager decides not to hire the Muslim worker. They think that the worker's religious views might clash with other members of the team.
- A Jewish employee has started a new job. Other colleagues were welcoming until they found out that the employee was Jewish. Since then, staff members have avoided the Jewish worker, and some have made rude remarks. The new employee feels isolated and fears coming into work.
- A business decides they need to make some redundancies. The manager in charge makes the Christian worker redundant because their religious views don't fit in with others in the organisation.
Religious discrimination in the workplace
As an employer, you must protect your staff from discrimination against religion.
Employers are responsible for acts of discrimination in the workplace, even if they are unaware that it is happening.
Complaints about religious discrimination could lead to employment tribunals and costly fines.
You must take all grievances about religious discrimination seriously. Investigate any claims and take action to stop religious discrimination in the workplace.
How to overcome religious discrimination in the workplace
Religion or belief discrimination of any kind is illegal. Make sure you are taking steps to stop it from occurring.
As an employer, it’s your responsibility to protect your staff. Here are some steps to overcome religious discrimination in the workplace.
Read our article: Embracing religious diversity in the workplace
1. Whistleblowing helpline
Employees might feel scared to raise concerns about discrimination at work. A whistleblowing helpline provides employees with a confidential reporting service. This way, they can raise concerns in confidence.
The helpline will be in touch to provide more information after any calls. Then you can deal with the matter as needed. This can be a great way to tackle discrimination in the workplace. It also supports employees to speak up when discrimination occurs, instead of suffering through it.
2. Hire a diverse workforce
Legally you must always hire the most suitable candidate for the job. But that doesn’t mean you can’t actively recruit a diverse workforce.
Employing people from all kinds of religions, backgrounds, ages, and sexual orientations can lead to a more accepting culture in the workplace. Further benefits include increased creativity, performance, and productivity.
3. Inform employees of your zero-tolerance approach
Make your employees aware of your zero-tolerance approach to religious discrimination. Educate staff on the different types of discrimination and encourage them to speak up if they believe it might be occurring at work.
Make sure you’re regularly reminding employees that discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.
4. Be aware of unconscious biases
Unconscious biases work outside of our awareness and affect decisions unknowingly. Make sure you’re aware of this when handling work procedures like hiring, redundancies, and promotions.
Educate decision-makers and line managers on the implications these biases can have and encourage them to consider this in the future.
Support your staff with Health Assured
Health Assured can support staff who are facing discrimination issues in the workplace. Our confidential whistleblowing support allows your employees to confidently raise claims and feel supported throughout.
Our Helpline is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; with multi-lingual support and fully trained counsellors ready to help.
Want to find out more? Book a free consultation with one of our wellbeing consultants. Call 0844 891 0354 for help with all forms of discrimination.
