Religious beliefs



At times, an employee's religious beliefs may conflict with an on-the-job requirement, standard or practice. The employer may be required to accommodate the employee's religious needs when workplace rules or practices have an adverse impact or create conditions that the employee cannot comply with. For example, when an employee is required to work Saturday but is unable to because it is their Sabbath, the employer is required to accommodate that employee. In O'Malley v Simpson Sears, the Supreme Court of Canada stated that an employer had to take reasonable steps to accommodate an employee who was unable to work because of religious reasons.

Dress codes, work schedules or shift work sometimes adversely affect employees because of the requirements of their religion. In such cases, the law requires an employer to accommodate the employee to the point of undue hardship.

Some religions require daily periods of prayer. When this conflicts with the employee's regular work hours or daily routines, an employer has a duty to accommodate the needs to the point of undue hardship. This could mean providing a quiet space for prayer for a brief period of time during the day.

Revised: January 13, 2012





