Days Off?

[andrewducker]

Not sure how I feel about this.  A Christian lost his court case where he claims he was sacked for refusing to work Sundays.  His employers moved to a 7-days shift system and required people to work every day of the week (I assume week on/week off).

On the one hand, if they're discriminating equally against Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc. then it's hard to say that they're practising religious discrimination.  And it's not like I actually agree that there's any _rational_ reason for not working on a Sunday.

I suspect I'm feeling the left-over twinge from when working on a Sunday used to be extremely rare.  If, after all, a sect sprang up that forbade working on Wednesdays I wouldn't expect employers to automatically give people the Wednesday off.  And it's not like we're actually a Christian country any more - church attendance is down to 7.5%.

Dammit, it's my Englishness coming to the fore.  Must...suppress....

Comments

Business

[wordofblake.livejournal.com]

Business reasons can justify eroding any time a person has. There are laws forbidding excess overtime but I'm sure that business reasons would justify mandatory unpaid overtime of 20 hours per day.

People vote, companies dont, the law should have their priorities built that way. Unfortunately since people do not vote sensibly, and nowhere has a real democracy anyway, the law can happily favour Companies over People

Re: Business

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

No, there's no 'business reasons' exemption in EU employment law. You can opt out personally of the 48 hour rule, but you can't opt out of some of the other provisions (notably the 11 hour break).

Re: Business

[wordofblake.livejournal.com]

sorry for "can" read "could", I've just re-read that and realised it can have a meaning I didnt intend.

I just meant that employers will do anything they feel they can get away with.

Another scary trend is for people to feel it is ok to "just do what they are told" in work regardless of what it is "because that's their job and they dont make the rules". The abdication of moral responsibility terrifies me

Re: Business

[andrewducker]

I just meant that employers will do anything they feel they can get away with

Which is where things like human right's legislation, unions and having useful skills comes in.

My employers treat most staff well - but that's because they think that doing so makes us work better and is more cost-effective in the long run. People with utterly replaceable skills and no union are obviously not in the same position.

Re: Business

[missedith01.livejournal.com]

Business reasons can justify eroding any time a person has.

They could, but in general, they don't.

There are laws forbidding excess overtime but I'm sure that business reasons would justify mandatory unpaid overtime of 20 hours per day.

Nope. Working hours laws don't allow this justification.

Justification is necessary because any anti-discrimination law has to deal with direct and indirect cases. If an employer says "You can't work here because you are a Christian" that's obviously discriminatory. When an employer says "Everyone who works here has to wear a safety helmet" is he practicing indirect discrimination or being health and safety conscious? That's where the possibility of justification comes in, because sometimes indirect discrimination will be lawful (when it's a necessary and proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim) and sometimes it won't.