Religious Accommodation

Religious accommodation is about finding a balance between an employer's duty to accommodate employees’ religious beliefs, practices and observances. According to the employment laws and anti-discrimination regulations in most countries, employers should make reasonable accommodations for the employees' sincerely-held religious beliefs or practices, unless the company will face an undue hardship. Work schedule, dress code, job responsibilities, or workplace facilities may be altered to accommodate the religious practices of employees and to enable them to observe them without being discriminated against or experiencing any form of prejudice.

Example of Religious Accommodation

In a corporate office environment, an employee is seeking religious accommodation to fulfill the requirement of daily prayer rituals as per their religious belief. The employee's prayer times clash with regular working hours and scheduled meetings, thus hindering their ability to adhere to their religious practices and still meet work commitments.

In response to the employee's request, the employer begins the interactive process with the employee to identify a reasonable accommodation that accommodates the employee's religious beliefs as much as possible without causing too much disruption for the workplace. At the end of our discussion the employer agrees to make a change to the employees work schedule, to allow short breaks at designated prayer times. The employee agrees to catch up for any missed work or reschedule meetings accordingly in order to accommodate their prayer schedule.

Moreover, the employer offers a private and quiet place inside the workplace where the employee can do their prayers without disturbance and without any background noise. The employer informs the accommodated employees, supervisors and colleagues about his/her religious needs to understand and support.