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The court gave Khan £10,000 in compensation. (Courtesy Yorkshire Post)
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CAIRO,
January 16 (IslamOnline.net) - A Leeds industrial tribunal has ruled
in favor of a British Muslim worker unfairly sacked by his employer
after taking a six-week leave to perform hajj, The Telegraph
reported on Saturday, January 15.
The
court gave Mohammed Sajwal Khan, 43, £10,000 in compensation, saying
his dismissal was violating the Employment Equality (Religion or
Belief) regulations.
In
March, Leeds-based NIC Hygiene Ltd fired Khan from his £8,000-a-year
job after he used his 25-day holiday entitlement and another week's
unpaid leave to take on the spiritual journey.
The
bus cleaner had requested the leave but when he received no response,
the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU) advised him to submit
a written request.
The
company failed to respond and his manager said if he heard nothing he
could assume it was all right.
However,
upon his return from Saudi Arabia Khan was suspended without pay and
later sacked.
Khan,
from Bradford, had worked for NIC Hygiene Ltd since 1996.
Every
able-bodied adult Muslim who can physically and financially afford the
trip must perform hajj, one
of the “five pillars” of Islam , once in their lifetime.
Hajj
consists of several
ceremonies , meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the
Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and
his family.
Landmark
Case
Khan’s
representative Anna Power, of Leeds-based Morrish & Co, said the
case should serve as a warning.
“It
is vitally important that companies do not discriminate against
employees on grounds of their religion, and this case should serve to
warn employers in the region that there is no room for such
discrimination in today’s workplace,” she was quoted as saying by
the Scotsman, a British daily newspaper Web site.
The
Yorkshire Post quoted Power as saying the case could have
implications for companies who employ Christians and make them work on
Christmas Day.
“If
a Christian wanted to attend church on Christmas Day, and his employer
wanted him to work, there is the potential that the employer's demand
could be indirectly discriminatory, as it would place practicing
Christians at a disadvantage.
“Alternatively,
it is becoming more common for companies to close over Christmas. This
may indirectly discriminate against, for example, Muslims, who want to
save their holiday leave in order to celebrate their own religious
festivals.”
In
her annual Christmas broadcast, Queen Elizabeth II appealed for
greater tolerance and understanding between Britain's different
cultural and religious groups.
The
television broadcast, watched by an estimated 6.5 million people, also
featured film from royal visits during the year to a Sikh temple and
Muslim centre.
On
December 16, the results of a survey by the Islamic Human Rights
Commission (IHRC) showed that four out of five British Muslims
have experienced discrimination
in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the US.
Britain's
Muslims are estimated to be some 2.5 million out of the 60 million
population.
