All over the country in public services, staff and managers are being told that they should, in the interests of diversity, find out all about Ramadan and maybe even observe it, whether they are Muslim or not.
Well, most of us know what Ramadan is. For Muslims it’s a “holy month” in which the devout among them fast between dawn and dusk. Fine. Can we leave it at that? Well, no. Nowadays, if you work in the police, prison or civil services or a local authority you are probably being bombarded with “guidelines” and training courses to raise your awareness of the significance of Ramadan for the true believers.
The Human Resources director at Westminster City Council, Graham White, has warned that when the new Equality Bill comes into effect, public sector bodies “will be expected to monitor employee beliefs to help promote religious equality at work, in the same way organisations monitor race, gender and disabilities.” He said workplaces could find themselves in trouble if they didn’t do more to understand and prepare for religious festivals. [National Secular Society] Read more
