Religious Discrimination In The Workplace

Religious discrimination in the workplace is usually discussed as something an employer does. A good deal of it happens sideways, between colleagues, and the employer can still carry responsibility for it.

The peer version is rarely a stated objection to someone’s faith. It is comment about dress, jokes about observance, exclusion from the social parts of work that centre on alcohol or food, or a running commentary about someone leaving early on a particular day. Individually small, cumulatively the reason people stop mentioning it.

There is also an indirect form worth watching. A team norm that everyone attends Friday drinks, or that lunch is always ordered from the same place, is neutral on its face and quietly excluding in effect.

Employers can be liable for what employees do in connection with their work unless they can show they took all reasonable steps to prevent it. The Fair Work Ombudsman covers the general protections. This is general information rather than legal advice.

See Sentrient’s code of conduct training and cultural awareness training.