Men in responsible positions will not only ignore and despise the Sabbath themselves, but from the sacred desk will urge upon the people the observance of the first day of the week, pleading tradition and custom in behalf of this man-made institution. They will point to calamities on land and sea–to the storms of wind, the floods, the earthquakes, the destruction by fire–as judgments indicating God’s displeasure because Sunday is not sacredly observed. These calamities will increase more and more, one disaster will follow close upon the heels of another; and those who make void the law of God will point to the few who are keeping the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as the ones who are bringing wrath upon the world. This falsehood is Satan’s device that he may ensnare the unwary.–Southern Watchman, June 28, 1904.  {ChS 155.2}

“Sunday is our “Mark of Authority”…the church is above the Bible, and this transference of the Sabbath observance is proof of the fact.
Catholic Record, September 1, 1923

As the approach of the Roman armies was a sign to the disciples of the impending destruction of Jerusalem, so may this apostasy be a sign to us that the limit of God’s forbearance is reached.–5T 451 (1885).  {LDE 133.1}

UK Mercury Monday 11 November 2013

Being allowed to wear a veil, or even religious jewellery – we have had it all considered by the tribunal in recent months.The latest challenge to be mounted is by 58-year-old devout Christian, Celestine Mba. Celestine is taking it further despite a tribunal and employment appeal tribunal ruling that Merton Council requiring her to work on a Sunday was not religious discrimination. Will this landmark legal challenge see a reversion back to Sunday trading being marginalised and possibly even a thing of the past?

Test case

Celestine is a childcare worker who initially brought a claim in the Employment Tribunal when her employer allegedly refused to allow her to have Sundays off for religious observance. Celestine signed a contract which required her to work 5 days out of 7. She claims that before signing the contract, she asked whether it would be incumbent upon her to work Sundays and was told by Merton Council that they would not require her to work Sundays. Once Celestine started work, she states that the Council reneged on this ‘oral agreement’ and required her to work Sundays. A devout Christian since the age of 19, Celestine believes that the Sabbath is a day of rest and that employers should accommodate that belief.

The case which has been highly publicised over recent weeks with Celestine making many appearances on radio and TV stations has caused debate over whether Christians should be allowed to refuse work on Sundays due to their religious beliefs. Business owners large and small wait in nervous anticipation for this case to be heard and the Court of Appeal to decide on the matter as they are concerned how they will ensure their business needs are met without falling foul of the law in the future.

Concerns

Balancing religious beliefs in the workplace has always been a sensitive issue and employers have struggled in recent times. The famous Eweida case, concerning a British Airways cabin crew member who was told she could not wear a necklace with a cross is one of the most talked about cases in recent times.

There is concern amongst business owners that if the Court of Appeal holds that Christians should be allowed Sundays off to ensure that they can abide by their religious beliefs, employees of other religions will follow suit and will also have to be granted days off to comply with their religious belief.

It has been suggested that the burden should shift to employees to apply for, and chose work that accommodates their religious beliefs, rather than acquire jobs then expect the employer to accommodate those beliefs. There is much controversy amongst Christians on this issue as some argue that there is no requirement to pray or go to church on a Sunday and in reality, religion is a matter of interpretation by each individual. Where each individual interprets the requirement of a religion differently, can employers realistically be expected to accommodate each individual belief? There is also consideration to be had for employees without any particular religious belief being felt as though they are being discriminated against.

The law as it stands

Under current laws, the only employees that can actually opt out of working on Sundays are shop workers.

Shop workers are defined as “employees who, under their contract of employment, are or may be required to do “shop work”. This includes any premises where any retail trade or business is carried on. It does not include for examples, catering businesses and theatre and is therefore a narrow exclusion.

Shop workers can give their employer a signed and dated written notice that they object to Sunday working at any time, provided they:

• Are or may be required to work on Sunday.

• Are not employed to work only on Sunday.

The notice must be in writing, be signed by the worker and state that they object to Sunday working. The notice takes effect after three months.

Employer obligations

Where a shop worker has the right to opt out of Sunday working, employers must give the employee a written statement explaining the steps they must follow to serve a valid opting-out notice.

If the employer fails to provide this statement, the period between the shop worker serving the notice and it taking effect is reduced to one month and therefore it is imperative that the employer gets it right. This is an area of law that many business owners know nothing about.

Mass opt out

In reality, although this will be of little comfort to employers, there is nothing they can do to prevent all shop workers from opting out of Sunday working. It is not possible to refuse a worker’s right to opt out because of business need.

Solutions

Workers employed to work only on Sundays cannot opt out and therefore one way around the problem is to employ workers who are willing to work Sundays only. This is a format adopted by many of the retail giants, especially over busy seasonal periods such as Christmas.

Arranging rotas so that there is always a mix of Sunday only staff and regular staff for Sundays will ensure that the shop is not understaffed and the business can still operate. Offering a higher rate of pay or other incentive may also encourage fewer people to opt out.

The future

What the future holds remains uncertain, however, employers are advised to tread carefully when employees request time off to accommodate their religious beliefs. Legal advice is recommended as employers need to be sure that they are not acting in contravention of the law by discriminating against the employee by refusing.