How to balance religious beliefs and workplace demands

Many people in South Africa observe significant religious holidays, such as Easter and Ramadan.

As these holidays approach, the tension between religious beliefs and workplace demands can cause issues for employers and employees if job requirements are not explicitly and clearly stated in an employment contract.

It has previously happened between Sun International Management and one of its employees who was dismissed over his inability to perform an inherent requirement of the job, working between sunset on Friday and sunset on Saturday, because of his religious beliefs.

Job’s requirements

Labour law experts from Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr’s (CDH) Employment Law practice commented on the case and gave advice that employers can follow.

Aadil Patel, Nadeem Mahomed, Lynsey Foot and Peter-Wallace Mathebula from the law firm said during the hiring phase the employee agreed to the terms of his employment contract and did not raise any concerns.

“The contract stated that ‘normal work hours will be 8:30am to 5pm Mondays to Fridays, with an hour for lunch.

“However, due to the nature of the business, you will be required to work longer hours from time to time without additional compensation.”

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Not being able to fulfil a job requirement

Experts added that the employee communicated after beginning work that he could not travel or attend work events that took place during the Sabbath (from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday) based on his religious beliefs, as he identified as a Seventh-day Adventist.

However, the employer accommodated the employee by delegating the relevant duties over the Sabbath period to other employees.

“After 16 months, this accommodation was no longer tenable due to capacity constraints, and an incapacity process and hearing were convened.”

The alternative

Because the accommodation was no longer working, the employer informed the employee that working on weekends was an inherent requirement of the job and offered the employee an alternative position with a 45% salary reduction.

“The employee refused the offer of the alternative position. As a result, the employer terminated the employment agreement based on incapacity.”

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Unfair dismissal?

CDH experts said the case was ruled as an unfair dismissal in the labour court, but taken to the Labour Appeal Court. It was then ruled in favour of the employer.

The Labour Appeal Court said it was not an unfair dismissal because weekend work requirement was an inherent job necessity.

“In addition, the court recognised the employer’s effort to initially accommodate the employee for more than a year and to offer an alternative position when they could no longer make the accommodation.

“These efforts demonstrated the employer’s commitment to balancing the employee’s religious practices with the operational demands of the business.”

The need to be clear on requirements

They advise employers and employees to be detailed regarding the small print around working hours and job requirements during the recruitment and onboarding process.

“In the rush of signing contracts and ensuring roles are filled, the detail’s importance can sometimes get lost.

“Employers must be careful in substantiating whether a job entails an inherent requirement and whether the employer has made adequate efforts to accommodate the employee where relevant.

“The factual context and these considerations are important factors for employers to carefully assess in situations where an employee is unable to or elects, for example, based on religious belief, not to meet an inherent requirement of the job she/he holds.”

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