Skip to main content
  • About
  • News & Insights
  • Careers
  • International
0808 291 3524
Dialog that contains search functionality
Irwin Mitchell Logo
  • Personal
    • Personal
    • Personal Home
    • Personal Injury Claims
      • Personal Injury Claims
      • Personal Injury Claims Home
      • Abuse Claims
      • Accidents In Public Places Claims
      • Criminal Injury Compensation Claims
      • Accident At Work Claims
      • Air, Rail & Maritime Claims
      • Asbestos & Mesothelioma Claims
      • Changing Solicitors During a Personal Injury Claim
      • Group Claims
      • Holiday Accidents & Illness Claims
      • Illness Compensation Claims
      • Industrial Disease Claims
      • Injury Types
      • Military Injury Compensation Claims
      • No Win No Fee Personal Injury Claims
      • Personal Injury Claims In Scotland
      • How To Claim Compensation For Personal Injury
      • Product Liability Claims
      • Road Traffic Accident Claims
      • Serious Injury Claims
      • Who Can Help?
      • Support Services
    • Medical Negligence Claims
      • Medical Negligence Claims
      • Medical Negligence Claims Home
      • Cancer Misdiagnosis Claims
      • Birth Injury Claims
      • Cauda Equina Syndrome Claims
      • Never Event Claims
      • Ambulance & Paramedic Medical Negligence Claims
      • Cosmetic Surgery Claims
      • Private Healthcare Claims
      • Cerebral Palsy Claims
      • Defective Medical Device Claims
      • Dental Negligence Claims
      • Diabetes Misdiagnosis Claims
      • Fatal Medical Negligence Claims & Inquests
      • GP Negligence Claims
      • Hospital Negligence Claims
      • What Is Medical Negligence?
      • Meningitis Misdiagnosis Claims
      • Failure To Prevent Suicide Claims
      • Misdiagnosis Claims
      • Ophthalmic Negligence Claims
      • Pregnancy & Gynaecology Injury Claims
      • Sepsis Negligence Claims
      • Pharmacy And Medication Negligence Claims
      • Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust Maternity Care Claims
      • Stroke Misdiagnosis Claims
      • Surgery Compensation Claims
    • Counselling
      • Counselling
      • Counselling Home
      • Counselling Myths Dispelled
    • Family Law
      • Family Law
      • Family Law Home
      • Divorce Solicitors
      • Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreement Solicitors
      • Child Abduction Solicitors
      • Civil Partnership Solicitors
      • LGBT+ Family Law Solicitors
      • Unmarried Couples' Rights
      • Divorce Financial Settlement Solicitors
      • Child Arrangement Orders
      • Family Mediation
      • Out of Court Divorce Solicitors
      • Separation Agreement Solicitors
      • Adoption & Surrogacy Solicitors
    • Wills, Trusts & Estates
      • Wills, Trusts & Estates
      • Wills, Trusts & Estates Home
      • Estate Planning Solicitors
      • Powers Of Attorney
      • Trusts
      • Will Writing Services
      • Will Disputes & Contentious Probate
    • Conveyancing & Property Solicitors
      • Conveyancing & Property Solicitors
      • Conveyancing & Property Solicitors Home
      • Conveyancing Fees Calculator
      • Buying A Property
      • Selling A Property
      • Remortgage
      • Transfer Of Equity
      • Buy To Let
      • Freehold Purchase (Leasehold Enfranchisement) Solicitors
      • Lease Extension Solicitors
      • Conveyancing Guide
      • Residential Property Disputes
    • Tax
      • Tax
      • Tax Home
      • Business Tax
      • Inheritance Tax
      • International Tax
      • Professional Negligence
      • HMRC Tax Investigations
      • Tax Disputes & Litigation
      • Tax Residence
      • Tax Returns & Compliance
      • UK Resident Non-Doms
      • Wealth Structuring
    • Probate
      • Probate
      • Probate Home
      • International Probate
      • Probate Sale Conveyancing
      • What Is Probate & How Does It Work?
    • Will, Trust & Estate Disputes
      • Will, Trust & Estate Disputes
      • Will, Trust & Estate Disputes Home
      • Trust Disputes
      • Inheritance Act Claims
      • Contesting A Will
      • Contentious Probate
      • Pre-Death Agreements
      • Professional Negligence
      • Challenging A Lifetime Gift
      • Financial Abuse
      • Statutory Will Disputes
      • Defending A Contested Will
    • Employment Solicitors
      • Employment Solicitors
      • Employment Solicitors Home
      • Employment Contract Solicitors
      • Employment Disputes
      • Dismissal & Redundancy Solicitors
      • Employment Discrimination Solicitors
      • Employment Lawyers for Legal Expenses Insurance
      • Harassment & Bullying At Work Solicitors
      • Parental & Family Friendly Employment Rights
      • Professional Discipline Solicitors
      • Recruitment & Promotion
      • Senior Executive Employment Lawyers
      • Settlement Agreements
      • Whistleblowing Solicitors
    • Elderly Legal Services
    • Protecting Your Rights
      • Protecting Your Rights
      • Protecting Your Rights Home
      • Actions Against The Police
      • Inquests
      • Environmental & Planning Law
      • Assessment & Treatment Unit Solicitors
      • Data Protection Breach Claims
      • Education Law
      • Healthcare & Social Services
      • Human Rights
      • Judicial Review
      • Mental Capacity
      • Professional Regulation & Discipline
      • Dispute Resolution
      • Legal Aid
    • Immigration Solicitors
      • Immigration Solicitors
      • Immigration Solicitors Home
      • British Citizenship & Naturalisation Solicitors
      • EU & EEA Immigration Solicitors
      • Indefinite Leave To Remain Solicitors
      • Spouse Visa Solicitors
      • Innovator Visa
      • Permanent Residence Solicitors
      • Business Immigration Solicitors
    • Crime & Investigations
      • Crime & Investigations
      • Crime & Investigations Home
      • Crime
      • Fraud & Financial Crime
      • Court Martial Solicitors
      • Motoring Offences Legal Advice
      • Regulatory Investigations & Enforcement
    • Insolvency
      • Insolvency
      • Insolvency Home
      • Business Restructuring & Insolvency
      • Debt Consultancy
      • Insolvency Disputes & Litigation
    • Court Of Protection
      • Court Of Protection
      • Court Of Protection Home
      • Court Of Protection Deputyship
      • Personal Injury Trusts
      • Court Of Protection Problems & Disputes
      • Healthcare and Social Services
      • Court of Protection Frequently Asked Questions
      • Powers Of Attorney Disputes
      • Statutory Wills Solicitors
  • Wealth Management
    • Wealth Management
    • Wealth Management Home
    • Asset Management For Personal Injury
    • Charity & Philanthropy
    • Estate Planning
    • Ethical & Sustainable Investing
    • Financial Planning
    • Intergenerational Wealth Management
    • Investment Management
    • Retirement Financial Planning
    • Family Offices
    • Succession Planning
    • Tax Planning
  • Business
    • Business
    • Business Home
    • Sectors
      • Sectors
      • Sectors Home
      • Agriculture & Rural Business
      • Retail, Leisure & Hospitality
      • Education
      • Financial & Professional Services
      • Landed Estates
      • Manufacturing
      • Real Estate
      • Sport
      • Technology & Communications
    • Banking & Finance
      • Banking & Finance
      • Banking & Finance Home
      • Corporate Banking
      • Leveraged & Acquisition Finance
      • Real Estate Finance
      • Receivables Finance & Asset Based Lending
    • Environmental, Social & Governance
      • Environmental, Social & Governance
      • Environmental, Social & Governance Home
      • Cyber Security
      • Environment
      • Net Zero
      • Social
      • Diversity & Inclusion
      • Governance
      • International
      • ESG Legal Advisory Services
      • Legislation Library
      • Manufacturing Sector
      • Real Estate
      • Retail, Leisure and Hospitality Sector
      • Sports Sector
    • Business Crime
      • Business Crime
      • Business Crime Home
      • Anti-Bribery & Corruption
      • Asset Tracing & Recovery
      • Cartels & Illegal Price Fixing
      • Cybercrime
      • Dawn Raids
      • Deferred Prosecution Agreements
      • Extradition
      • INTERPOL Red Notices
      • Mutual Legal Assistance
      • Private Prosecution
      • Proceeds Of Crime Act
      • Unexplained Wealth Orders
      • Fraud Lawyers
      • Insider Trading & Market Abuse
      • Corporate Internal Investigations
    • Business Immigration
      • Business Immigration
      • Business Immigration Home
      • Business Visitor Visa
      • Global Business Mobility Visas
      • Innovator Visa
      • Prevention Of Illegal Working
      • Skilled Worker Visas
      • Sole Representative Of An Overseas Business
      • UK Visa Sponsor License
    • Commercial
      • Commercial
      • Commercial Home
      • Commercial Contracts
      • Competition Law
      • GDPR & Data Protection
      • Information Technology
      • Sourcing
      • Notary Public Solicitors
    • Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution
      • Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution
      • Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution Home
      • Banking & Finance Litigation
      • Business Interruption Insurance Lawyers
      • Contract Disputes
      • Defamation & Reputation Management
      • International & Cross-Border Disputes
      • Commercial Debt Recovery
      • Litigation Funding
      • Professional Negligence
    • Corporate
      • Corporate
      • Corporate Home
      • Corporate Advisory
      • Equity Capital Markets
      • Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
      • Private Equity
      • Search Funds and Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Lawyers
    • Costs Team
    • Employment Law
      • Employment Law
      • Employment Law Home
      • Business Immigration
      • Employment Contracts, Policies & Procedures
      • Disciplinary & Grievance
      • Employee & Industrial Relations
      • Employment Lawyers for Legal Expenses Insurance
      • Employment Litigation & Resolution Lawyers
      • Equality, Diversity & Discrimination
      • Flexible Working Arrangements
      • Health & Safety
      • HR Advice Service - IMhrplus
      • Managing Sickness Absence
      • Pensions
      • Recruitment
      • Restrictive Covenants
      • Restructuring & Redundancy
      • Self Employment, Contractors & Agency Workers
      • Employment Seminars, Training & Updates
      • TUPE
    • In-House Counsel
    • Intellectual Property and Media
      • Intellectual Property and Media
      • Intellectual Property and Media Home
      • Defamation & Reputation Management
      • Copyright Lawyers
      • Design Rights Lawyers
      • Image Rights Lawyers
      • Online Marketplace Seller Account Or Listing Suspensions
      • Stopping IP Infringement By Sellers On Online Marketplaces
      • Patent Lawyers
      • Trade Mark Lawyers
      • Trade Secrets Lawyers
    • Legal Helpline
    • Licensing
      • Licensing
      • Licensing Home
      • Betting & Gaming Licensing
      • Event Licences
      • Alcohol Licensing
    • Pensions
      • Pensions
      • Pensions Home
      • Employment
      • Managing Death Benefit Trusts
    • Regulatory & Compliance
      • Regulatory & Compliance
      • Regulatory & Compliance Home
      • Road Transport & Operator Compliance
      • GDPR & Data Protection
      • Regulatory Investigations
      • Account Freezing Orders
      • Anti-Money Laundering
      • Companies House Prosecutions
      • Environment & Safety Regulatory Compliance
      • Financial Services Regulation
    • Real Estate
      • Real Estate
      • Real Estate Home
      • Corporate Occupiers
      • Real Estate Development and Regeneration
      • Construction & Engineering
      • Environmental
      • Real Estate Finance
      • Real Estate Investment
      • Later Living & Care
      • Planning
      • Property Litigation & Real Estate Disputes
      • Real Estate Tax
      • Residential Development
      • Strategic Land
      • Structured Real Estate
    • Restructuring & Insolvency
      • Restructuring & Insolvency
      • Restructuring & Insolvency Home
      • Corporate Insolvency
      • Partnership Insolvency
      • Directors' Duties
      • Restructuring Plans
      • Debt Recovery (up to £100,000) – Pricing
      • Restructuring
    • Tax
      • Tax
      • Tax Home
      • Corporate Tax
      • Real Estate Tax
      • Tax Investigations
  • People
    • People
    • People Home
    • Search By Name
    • Search By Location
    • Search By Expertise
    • Business Management
  • Offices
    • Offices
    • Offices Home
    • Birmingham
    • Brighton
    • Bristol
    • Cambridge
    • Cardiff
    • Chichester
    • Edinburgh
    • Gatwick
    • Glasgow
    • Leeds
    • Liverpool
    • London
    • Manchester
    • Middlesbrough
    • Newbury
    • Newcastle
    • North Yorkshire
    • Nottingham
    • Reading
    • Sheffield
    • Southampton
  • Contact
  • About
  • News & Insights
  • Careers
  • International
Irwin Mitchell Logo
Dialog with Irwin Mitchell phone number
Call us on 0808 291 3524

We're here 24/7, 365 days a year.

  • Home
  • News & Insights
  • Newsletters
  • Education Update
  • Legal Briefing - 3 March 2017

Legal Briefing - 3 March 2017

FAQ’s: How far does your school have to go to accommodate the religious beliefs of your staff?

Religion and belief is a protected characteristic in the Equality Act 2010. This means that you cannot treat a member of staff (or job applicant) less favourably because of their religion or beliefs. In addition, you cannot put in place a requirement that disadvantages an individual because of their religion or beliefs, unless it is a ‘proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’.

However, this does not mean that you cannot make decisions that are essential for the smooth running of your school. Instead you need to think about the implications of those decisions and, if necessary, put in place measures to overcome or reduce the negative impact that they might have.

1)  Do we have to allow an employee to take time off for religious festivals?

Most employers require their staff to use annual leave for such occasions and this is an acceptable practice. The difficulty for schools is that most employees can only take holiday when the school is closed to pupils. This can cause difficulties for members of staff who wish to attend religious festivals occurring during term time. This is likely to affect those who have non-Christian beliefs as the Christian festivals of Easter and Christmas fall within school holidays.

A policy of not taking leave during term time may therefore potentially disadvantage individuals who share non-Christian beliefs. This can amount to indirect discrimination.

To successfully defend such charges, schools must be able to demonstrate that the requirement to take holidays at fixed points in the academic year is justified and that there is no less onerous way of delivering the same level of service by another (non-discriminatory) means. It may be relatively straightforward to establish this with regard to teaching staff and those who have direct contact with the children. However, other support staff may be able to easily undertake their duties at other times.

Advice

  • Make sure that your policy sets out how requests will be allocated. It is always possible that a number of employees will request leave at the same time, and you will not be able to agree to all requests. Make it clear how you will decide who gets the leave in this situation.
  • It can be helpful to include discretion to enable you to consider each request on its own merits. If you include this you should make sure that you consider requests consistently, by for example, considering the impact granting leave will have on the school/provision of education. This will help you to reach consistent decisions.
  • The policy should set out whether leave taken in these circumstances will be paid or unpaid. There is no need for you to pay for leave in excess of the employee’s contractual entitlements. Be consistent and make sure that all employees who take additional leave for whatever reason are treated equally.

2)  A teacher has asked to take a 10 minute prayer break during lesson times. Do we have to accommodate it?

There is no express obligation on employers to provide time and designate or create specific facilities for religious belief or observance in the workplace. However, it is sensible to consider whether you can accommodate the request as this will help you to justify your decision if you decide to refuse it. For example, does the teacher work with a support teacher who is able to take the class for 10 minutes? Can the teacher pray during a scheduled break? Further discussion would need to take place to help you reach a fair decision.

A recent case involving a school provides some helpful advice. Mr Mayuuf was a maths teacher employed at a Catholic school. He believed in the Maliki School of Islam which required him to attend prayers at a mosque every Friday. The school accommodated this for a while but following a change in timetable, his request was turned down. He argued that he had suffered religious discrimination, but the school was able to justify its decision. This was because they were trying to address declining standards in GCSE maths and year 11 maths classes were scheduled to take place at the same time so that pupils could be moved up or down between sets according to ability. The tribunal accepted that it would have been practically impossible to rewrite the timetable to free up this period and providing a supply teacher would have affected the continuity of education and would have been too costly.

Advice

  • If an employee requests a prayer break, start by considering how this could be achieved without disrupting the school. All employees are entitled to a break of at least 20 minutes when they have worked for six hours. Could the timing of this break be organised to accommodate the employee?
  • If it is not possible to accommodate the request and you have a good reason for doing so, you can refuse it.
  • Employers are not required to enter into significant expenditure or make alterations to their premises to meet religious needs. However, In terms of providing facilities, consider the wider needs of the school such as whether pupils may also wish to access these as this would be relevant to your decision.

3)  Can a teacher refuse to carry out some of their duties, or refuse to teach certain subjects because of their religious beliefs?

The right to hold a religious belief is not an absolute right that “trumps” all other protected rights. There is scope for conflict between the protected characteristics of religion and belief and sexual orientation, since some religious groups have strong views on homosexuality. Plus, some religions impose dietary restrictions and/or impose restrictions on what each sex can do which can impact on their ability to perform their duties. This can lead to requests to be allowed to “opt out” of work that conflicts with their beliefs.

Schools are under a duty to comply with the Equality Act. Although the content of the curriculum is expressly excluded from this, the way in which a school provides education and delivers the curriculum is explicitly included. Schools are entitled to expose pupils to thoughts and ideas of all kinds, however challenging or controversial, without fear of legal challenge (from pupils) based on a protected characteristic.

Advice

In deciding whether or not to accept an employee’s request to be excused from certain duties on religious grounds, you should consider whether the duty itself clashes with the particular belief of the individual (and you may need to seek guidance on this) and then consider whether granting the request:

  • Will cause disruption to your school or adversely impact on your ability to teach subjects required under the curriculum
  • Has any health and safety implications
  • Will impact on the workload of other employees
  • Will impact on the school ethos and values or on any aspects of the curriculum.

It is also sensible to consider agreeing a trial period to see if the arrangement works without difficulty. Make it clear that you may require the teacher to revert back to their normal duties if the trial is unsuccessful.

If you cannot accommodate the request, you should explain the reasons for this to the employee.

4)  Do employees have the right to wear religious clothes or symbols at work?

If your school has a policy on dress (or provides a uniform for some of its staff), you should try and be flexible and reasonable concerning requests to wear religious clothing and items of jewellery. That said, if the item potentially causes a health and safety risk or impedes the ability of the individual to communicate, you can refuse.

There are a number of cases which provide useful guidance. One involved a school pupil who brought proceedings against the school when it refused to allow her to wear a religious bangle because it was contrary to its uniform policy. The tribunal accepted that wearing the bangle was of exceptional importance to the pupil and was an expression of her race and culture. It was unobtrusive and caused no health or safety risk and she should have been allowed to wear it.

An instruction for a bilingual support worker to remove her veil (which covered everything apart from the worker’s eyes) was also found to be justified because it impeded her ability to effectively communicate and teach.

Similarly, a nursery did not discriminate against a job applicant when it made clear at interview that its uniform policy meant that any garment worn should not present a tripping hazard. This policy did not indirectly discriminate against Muslim women who wore jilbabs (a garment which covers the body from neck to ankle). The nursery allowed women to wear ankle-length jilbabs, so long as they did not present a tripping hazard.

Advice

Consider if granting a request to display an item of jewellery or wear a form of dress will impact upon the employee’s ability to do their job safely or adversely affect the education of pupils. If it does, then refusing the request is likely to be justified.

5)  What is the best advice for schools?

Employees do not have an absolute right to practice their religion in the workplace or to take time off for religious adherence. Employers are required to balance their need to properly manage their schools alongside the beliefs of certain members of their staff. If particular beliefs can be accommodated, it is sensible to do so. All that is really required is for your school to act reasonably and treat requests appropriately. However, we recommend that you take legal advice as the justification of your decision is a complex balance of factors.

It is also helpful to communicate with employees and involve them in the decision making process as much as possible – they may even be able to suggest a compromise for a solution!

6)  Where can we find further information?

The government has published a guide to the Equality Act 2010 for schools providing departmental advice for school leaders, school staff, governing bodies and local authorities. 

For general enquiries

0808 291 3524

Or we can call you back at a time of your choice

Phone lines are open 24/7, 365 days a year

Contact us today

For a free initial consultation

Freephone

0808 291 3524

Prefer not to call?

Use our form

This data will only be used by Irwin Mitchell for processing your query and for no other purpose.

Jenny Arrowsmith
Jenny Arrowsmith Partner Meet the team

About Irwin Mitchell

Founded in Sheffield in 1912, Irwin Mitchell has always been a bit different. Our advisers really get to know the people and business that we help.

We have offices around the UK so wherever you are, our experts can help.

Contact Us

Give us a ring to speak to a member of our team in the strictest confidence. Or you can fill out our contact form and we'll ring you back.

0370 1500 100

Our phone lines are open 24/7, 365 days a year

Get a call back

Fill in your details below and we'll be in touch as soon as possible

This data will only be used by Irwin Mitchell for processing your query and for no other purpose.

  • Contact
  • 0370 1500 100
  • Contact Irwin Mitchell
  • Social Media
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • About Irwin Mitchell
  • About Us
  • Responsible Business
  • Careers
  • Business Management
  • Alumni Programme
  • Pay A Bill
  • Complaints Procedure
  • SRA Regulated
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy & Security
  • Hoaxes
  • Modern Slavery Act Statement
  • Manage Cookie Settings

© 2025  Irwin Mitchell LLP

Irwin Mitchell LLP is authorised & regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Our Regulatory Information

Dialog that contains a form to request a callback.

Request A Callback

Enter your details below and a member of our team will contact you within 24 hours

This data will only be used by Irwin Mitchell for processing your query and for no other purpose.