Keeping the faith in the workplace

By JANINE OGIER

On his sabbath day, Auckland architect Anthony Gosling can't use a pencil, computer or telephone, let alone drive to work.

It means he's not available to work on Saturdays and has to leave early on winter Fridays to get home before the Jewish sabbath begins at sunset. Gosling also takes extra days off to observe religious holidays.

He is one of many New Zealanders who meld religious beliefs and needs with their work.

It is a long time since this nation of rugby fanatics was dumbstruck by Michael Jones' refusal to play rugby on Sundays.

But just this year the first religious discrimination complaint to be sent to the Human Rights Tribunal resulted in an out-of-court settlement of $40,000 for timber worker Richard Valentine.

Mill operators Carter Holt Harvey Tasman and owners Norske Skog Tasman admitted failing to accommodate Valentine's religious beliefs.

Despite it being the sabbath day of his Seventh Day Adventist religion, Valentine was expected to organise cover or take annual leave when rostered to work on Saturday.

Gosling says religious people need to be upfront but not self-righteous when broaching their faith with employers at an interview. "It is part of your life and you need to make an employer aware of it," he says. "I am convinced employers hate to get surprises later on."

He used to take annual leave for Jewish holidays such as Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashana and Passover if they fell on a working day. But he now recognises the need also to have his family holidays, so he takes unpaid leave instead.

The 200 halal slaughtermen in New Zealand have problems observing Muslim religious holidays as the entire chain relies on their expertise.

While Islamic groups would like official recognition for Muslim holidays, slaughtermen having to work take some solace from the fact that their job is of religious significance.

They ensure that meat processed has met their faith's strict slaughtering rules and so can be exported to Muslims around the world.

Prayer breaks can also cause disruption, with Muslims taking 10-15 minutes to pray five times a day.

But work on a slaughter chain doesn't stop for anything, as 100 more people rely on the flow of carcasses down the chain with 3000 sheep or 250 cattle killed each day.

Instead, the two specially trained slaughtermen at the beginning of the chain take turns to step aside and pray when necessary.

Fazeem Hussein, who has worked at Auckland City Council for 17 years, says he's never encountered a problem practising his Islamic faith.

These days he "fosters" new Muslim employees as they settle in to the work environment and discusses their special needs with their managers.

At prayer times during business hours Hussein, a project manager for utility planning, prays in his shared office and his colleagues are quiet and considerate. On Fridays he leaves work to pray at a mosque and makes up the time by starting early or finishing late.

When fasting during Ramadan Hussein says he appreciates his colleagues taking care not to eat in front of him and halal food is ordered for him if he is ever attending a work function involving food.

The Human Rights Act (1993) makes it illegal for anyone to discriminate on religious grounds. And while the Human Rights Commission doesn't provide specific guidelines for the workplace, workers who think they are being disadvantaged because of their beliefs can approach it for help.

Seventh Day Adventist Peter Heather says he has always taken the approach of not applying for jobs that might entail working on a Saturday.

Now, as the national sales and marketing manager for Shell distribution company Mini-Tanker, Heather is on call 24 hours a day.

But he has been upfront with clients about Saturday mornings and they know his cellphone is turned off between 9am and noon, when he is at church.

One Auckland optometrist with a strong Jewish faith says she had difficulty getting a job that did not involve working Saturdays. But she solved the problem by offering to open on Sundays. This meant her manager could expand his business hours, and on religious holidays she took annual leave.

Now the optometrist runs her own practice with her husband and they manage their appointment diary to suit what they need.

A receptionist takes care of Saturday business and they hire a locum or close the office while they honour holy days.

For these religious workers, being upfront and honest about their needs has created smooth employment relations.