How to Prevent Religious Discrimination in the Workplace

The way to prevent religious discrimination is to settle your position before anyone has to ask. Most disputes in Australia are about accommodation rather than hostility, and they escalate because a manager improvised an answer under pressure.

Decide in advance how you will handle the recurring ones. A quiet space and a few minutes for prayer. Dress and grooming standards that state the genuine safety or client requirement rather than a blanket rule. Rostering around days of religious significance, and how leave requests for them are treated against everyone else’s. Catering at work functions.

Then make sure every manager answers the same way. Inconsistency between two teams is where a reasonable request turns into a complaint.

Because there is no standalone federal religious discrimination Act and state protections differ, the position varies by where your people work. The Fair Work Ombudsman sets out the general protections. This is general information rather than legal advice, and this is an area worth a lawyer’s view.

See Sentrient’s cultural awareness training and equal employment opportunity course.