The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations protects employees from direct or indirect discrimination, harassment or victimisation on the grounds of their religion or belief.
Celebrating your own religion should not fall foul of the Regulations. General office Christmas festivities are unlikely to cause offence in the main as follower of other religions that do not celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday will still recognise it as a public holiday and are still likely to get together to socialise with work colleagues, family and friends.
As is always the case around the festive period, there will be HR-related issues that arise from unwelcome amorous advances at the Christmas party through to people taking offence over their perceived religious equality. Dealing with religious sensitivities is a question of balance. Where there is a representation in the workforce of different religious groups (such as Muslim or Hindu) HR staff could look at working with those individuals to ensure their main religious holidays are also celebrated in the workplace. Most people are naturally interested in other religions and cultures and so encouraging the workforce to celebrate their colleagues' beliefs can be an excellent way to harmonise the workforce, especially where the workforce is culturally and religiously diverse (as most modern working environments are).
It is probably not advisable to have a strict policy on how people should or should not celebrate Christmas during the festive period, as this will have a much wider detrimental impact on workforce morale. In preparation, HR should ensure that diversity and equality training for the workforce is up to date and anyone who has not had that training should receive it before the festive season begins.
A review of bullying and harassment policies is recommended to ensure staff are aware of the policies and procedures open to them should they feel bullied or harassed (on religious grounds or for any other reason).
The HR team should also remain vigilant during the festive season for things that might cause offence. Most Christmas decorations are neutral and a nativity scene or other religious Christian symbols on Christmas cards or decorations are unlikely to cause offence.
What is important is ensuring there is equality rather than prohibiting people from celebrating at all. There may be very rare examples where individuals want to display decorations that could be offensive to all or some religions, but this is unlikely to be commonplace. A more practical way of dealing with decorations could be for the HR department to take charge of buying them and handing them out to staff.
A more likely area of possible conflict is the consumption of alcohol. There are many religions where alcohol is prohibited and so employers should ensure that all office festivities during the Christmas period are not centred solely on alcohol to the extent that those who do not drink feel excluded from those events. For example, the traditional Christmas party should not involve the consumption of alcohol as the main feature, but instead should be presented as a meal and entertainment. That will ensure the event is attractive to those who do not consume alcohol. The aim is to ensure all of the workforce feels welcomed.
While a claim for religious discrimination can result in significant damages for injury to feelings, the most common result of exclusion in the Christmas period due to religious belief will be that individuals feel marginalised and undervalued. There will be rare cases where an individual takes such significant offence on the grounds of religious belief that they launch a formal grievance and this can only be dealt with as and when it arises. The employer that has taken some of the steps recommended above (training, policy review, etc) and has already has a positive attitude to HR best practice will be better placed to deal with serious conflict when it arises and will minimise the chance of it occurring in the first place.
Vanessa James is head of employment at SA Law
