Working hours and religious observance

Under the Sunday Trading Act 1994, a narrow group of shopworkers have the status of “protected shopworkers” and do not have to work on Sundays (see Chapter 4: Working Hours). For the rest of the workforce, Sunday working is a matter for the employment contract. On rare occasions, a claim might be based on indirect religious discrimination.

In Mba v the Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Merton [2013] EWCA Civ 1562, a Christian care worker lost her claim for indirect religious discrimination based on the requirement to work on Sundays. Her employer had an express contractual right to demand Sunday working and the Court of Appeal ruled that requiring Mba to work on Sundays was a lawful and proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. The care home where she worked looked after children with complex needs, meaning that continuity of care was important. Male and female experienced staff needed to be constantly on duty and always giving Mba Sundays off made it impossible for other staff to take the leave they wanted and led to increased costs through greater use of agency staff.

In Cherfi v G4S Security Services Limited [2011] UKEAT 0379/11/2405, Mr Cherfi, a G4S security guard, lost his claim for indirect religious discrimination when G4S refused to let him leave work at lunchtime for Friday prayers at the local mosque. The EAT said G4S’s refusal was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. G4S had taken reasonable steps to accommodate his religious beliefs by providing an on-site prayer room and had offered to vary Cherfi’s working hours so that he did not work on Fridays.