News
Employers Forum On Belief Launches An Employers Guide To Ramadan
10 August 2009
To help employers understand the needs of staff during this period the Employers Forum on Belief (EFB) has produced a fact sheet which includes information and suggestions for changes which they can make to working conditions for those observing Ramadan.There are over 1.6 million Muslims living in the UK and many will observe Ramadan which begins next week. In workplaces across the UK, Muslim employees will be fasting during daylight hours - around 18 hours without food or water. To help employers understand the needs of staff during this period the Employers Forum on Belief (EFB) has produced a fact sheet which includes information and suggestions for changes which they can make to working conditions for those observing Ramadan.
Rachel Krys, Campaign Director of the EFB said "Employers who take a little bit of time to understand the needs of their Muslim employees during Ramadan will reap rewards. It is an opportunity to show staff that they are cared about and a small adjustment could reduce the need for time off. The changes we are suggesting are very small, allowing a little flexibility in working hours or switching working lunches for meetings. Something as simple as not having biscuits at a team meeting would demonstrate sensitivity to what your Muslim colleagues are doing."
Recommendations in the guide include avoiding working lunches, considering flexibility on working times and encouraging employees to discuss their needs.
Rachel Krys continues, "People work better when they can be themselves. We are not suggesting a dramatic change in working practice, just a bit of sensitivity and a deeper understanding of what employees need."
The Employers Guide to managing Ramadan can be found on our website http://www.efbelief.org.uk/
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For further information please contact:
Employers Forum on Belief
Rachel Krys 020 7785 6539 rachel.krys@efa.org.uk
Notes to editors:
* Ramadan is due to start on or around the 22 August this year and lasts about 1 month, finishing around the 20th September.
The Employers Forum on Belief (EFB) was founded as an informal network of employers interested in religion and belief at work in 2004. The forum offers employers practical guidance and shares good practice around issues such as dress codes, religious holidays, the inter-relationship between religious belief and other diversity strands and conflict in the workplace. It is not affiliated to any religious group or philosophical belief and is concerned with employment; employers and employees.