Ramadan started this week. Many Muslims fast during this period between sunrise and sunset. It is the most important month of the year for many of them. But how flexible are employers with Ramadan?
Nowadays, there is more attention for how companies deal with different beliefs, says Pascal Besselink. He is a lawyer in employment law at DAS. “That’s something employees and employers discuss, but there’s nothing regarding it in the law.”
Freedom of religion is enshrined in the Constitution. There is nothing further in it regarding how to deal with religion in the workplace. “That means that when you participate in Ramadan, your employer cannot ask you to eat or drink,” says Besselink. “Even if you do physically demanding work, for example.”
Conversely, as an employee you cannot make any other demands of your boss during Ramadan. “Imagine that an employee is more strict regarding praying during Ramadan,” says Besseling. “They want to do that five times a day at a fixed time. That is not possible if that person is a bus driver, for example. You cannot pull over the bus five times a day to pray.”
More and more companies are taking Ramadan into account
Yet employers nowadays take more into account people who fast during Ramadan. The KNVB announced this week that the union allows eating and drinking breaks following sunset during duels in professional football. Large employers such as PostNL and Albert Heijn also say they take into account employees who fast during Ramadan.
According to Jannes van de Velde, spokesperson for employers’ association AWVN, the situation in the workplace has changed considerably in recent years. “We have become accustomed to working with people of different faiths,” says Van de Velde. “Thirty years ago, employers sometimes came to us with problems. For example, it was difficult for many companies to find a place for Muslims who wanted to pray during the day. But we never hear that anymore.”
This is because there is more and more diversity in the workplace these days, Besselink explains. As a result, employees talk more with each other regarding Ramadan, for example. This happens less often if there is only one person working in a company who is fasting. If more people fast, it is also discussed among themselves.
What is then possible for employees who fast depends on the company where you work. This makes it easier to take into account fasting employees who work shifts or have irregular working hours. You can then agree with your boss to work a later or earlier shift more often during the fasting month, making it easier to maintain the fast.
It’s more difficult with a nine-to-five job. “Then it is important to talk to your boss to discuss the possibilities,” says Besselink.
A day off during ‘Sugar Festival’ Eid-al-Fitr
All legal holidays in the Netherlands are days with a Christian origin, such as Ascension Day and Christmas Day. This makes it difficult for many Muslims to celebrate Eid-al-Fitr, the celebration at the end of Ramadan. If that does not fall on a weekend, many people have to work or go to school.
A number of companies have found a solution for this. “We see that employees can now exchange these days off for days when it suits them,” says Zakaria Boufangacha, vice president of the trade union FNV. “That means that someone, for example, works during Easter, but is free during Eid.” Nowadays, this is even stated in some collective labor agreements and personnel schemes.
But that is not possible for every company. “Some companies are really closed on those fixed days off,” says Besselink. “At the moment, the business community is still very focused on the existing holidays. Nevertheless, there is now and then a discussion regarding this. Shouldn’t we get rid of those fixed holidays?”