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

[tanngrisnir.livejournal.com]

Despite this, as a childless athiest, it still grates on me a little when some people milk it for all its worth and display a sense of entitlement to a degree of flexibility I'm not permitted. In many organisations, particularly smaller ones, the young & single or older with grown-up kids are expected to accomodate those with families.

I do recall one place I worked, in a department which had to operate 24 hours a day, every day of the year. As December approached, a notice went round to get requests for time off over Christmas, stating that "priority would be given to those with children"; I heard one of the senior staff wander off muttering "What about priority for Christians...?"

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

This comment makes the wholly erroneous assumption that Christmas is in any way a Christian religious festival in the UK.

I'm a parent but have always believed that parents should get certain sorts of special treatment (in particular, people whine endlessly about holiday weeks but parents of schoolaged children are, essentially, forced to take holidays in limited, expensive, school holiday times). The quid pro quo is that parents should appreciate the special treatment and help out their childless colleagues in their times of need -- eg when they've drunk a skinful and can't turn up to work, or when they absolutely need to leave early because they're going on a three day break to Paris.

[xquiq.livejournal.com]

This comment makes the wholly erroneous assumption that Christmas is in any way a Christian religious festival in the UK.

'Wholly' erroneous? For some people, Christmas is a predominently a religious period, although these people are reducing in number.

I firmly believe that becoming a parent is a choice like any other. Yes, it is in our interests for employers to make it easier for parents to work, but I don't think 'because I'm a parent' should automatically trump all other reasons for increased flexibility. Sadly, it's something I've seen a fair bit of.

I would hope that an employer would help parents ensure that they can take holiday at convenient times. I would equally hope that an employer would be understanding of the commitments of non-parents (eg. sick relatives, moving house, restrictions on a spouse's holiday periods). I've seen a lot of emphasis on the former and not a great deal on the latter.

[tanngrisnir.livejournal.com]

This comment makes the wholly erroneous assumption that Christmas is in any way a Christian religious festival in the UK.

Well, there are two things, aren't there? There's the Christmas as celebrated by most of the population, which has bugger all to do with Christianity, and there's Christmas as celebrated by some Christians, which is a Christian festival, whether you (or I) like it or not. For some Christians it is a time to celebrate the incarnation of their Messiah, and that should probably be respected.

Me, I celebrate Yule. ;o)