Time off work for religious reasons

As there are currently no laws specifically covering time off work for religious reasons, employers have no legal obligation to give employees time off for religious reasons.  

While this is said, when refusing requests for time off for religious reasons, or giving time off for religious reasons, employers must ensure that they can justify denying a request for time off, otherwise they may be liable under religious and faith discrimination, which is covered under the Equality Act 2010. 

Yes – however, in most workplaces, you will typically be expected to use your statutory or contractual annual leave or take unpaid leave from work. If you are ever unsure, please speak to your union Rep or employer.

If your workplace offers specific time off for religious reasons, this should be noted in your employee handbook or contract.  

It is important to give your employer as much notice as possible when you want to take time off for religious reasons to give them ample time to consider your request, as well as organise any cover for the time off you want to take.

Securing dates through annual leave as early as possible is also advisable. 

If your religion or faith holiday or event does not have set dates, we would recommend you give your employer as much notice as possible of approximately when it will be happening, as well as asking them to consider some flexibility around those dates. This should make it easier for them to put plans in place to allow you to take that time off.

Yes, they can. Employers and managers are under no automatic obligation to give employees time off work for religious reasons.  

However, they must consider any requests for time off for religious reasons carefully and sympathetically and are expected to be reasonable and flexible where possible. Your employer must ensure that they are not discriminating against any employee when dealing with requests for time off for religious reasons. 

If your employer refuses a request for time off, they must discuss the request, ensure the employee is aware of the reasons why they cannot take the time off, and prove why the refusal was proportionate. For example, if it is a busy period for the workforce, or those shifts cannot be covered. 

The size of the workforce and organisation you work at also plays a bit part. Bigger employers will have more of a scope for covering absence from work, so will have more of an ability to grant time off for religious reasons. Whereas smaller employers may find it difficult to provide cover, especially for employees with specific skills. 

If you feel your employer is discriminating against you on religious or belief grounds, please speak to your Equalities Rep, or contact Community immediately for support. 

You must first get your manager or employer’s approval before taking paid time off during the day to pray.  

Your employer does not automatically have to agree to giving you time off during the day to pray or provide a place of prayer; however, they must give proper consideration to any request and ensure that they are not unlawfully discriminating against you or any colleagues who share the same religion or belief. For example, in some work environments, such as nurseries and schools, there is a legal requirement to maintain child to staff ratios, and therefore, a manager or employer would be within their legal right to turn down a request in this scenario.

No, your employer has no obligation to give you time off work if you celebrate your religion or undertake religious activities on Sundays.  

If your employer operates seven days a week, and you do not automatically get time off work at the weekend, your employer will have a legitimate reason to deny this request as it is a genuine organisational need to meet the demands of the business.  

Additionally, if an employer gives preferential treatment to employees of certain faiths with taking time off at the weekend, they may be liable under religious and faith discrimination.  

Furthermore, giving time off to employees on Sundays may open a rabbit hole with other employees then wanting Sundays off to spend time with their families, which an employer will want to avoid. 

If you did not agree to work Sundays when you began employment, and it is not mentioned in your contract of employment, or terms and conditions, your employer cannot force you to work Sundays.  

If you work in the betting industry, you can opt out of Sunday working (unless Sunday is the only day you are employed to work on), even if you agreed to it in your contract. You must give your employer 3 months’ notice, and work Sundays during that 3-month period if requested to.