If A Christian Couple Can Be Fined For Refusing To Sell Something They Believe Is Against Their Religion Then Why No Action Against This Person?

[youngmafbog]

OK, so IMHO religion is the root of most evil but lets forget that bit because what I am trying to understand is why there seems to be one rule for one and another for a certain other religion we all have to bend ovcer backwards to accommodate?


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4070144/Muslim-Tesco-cashier-refuses-sell-bottle-wine-shopper-against-religion.html

[fiction-factory]

Whilst I am uneasy with employees dictating what they will and won't sell I can see that if an organisation wants to accommodate people with disabilities, people with caring responsibilities, those with religious restrictions and generally a wider range of staff an organisation then that is fine provided it can make things work by putting in other procedures and meeting the needs of customers, shareholders and staff.
Tesco has processes for dealing with cases where staff are too young to sell alcohol, so should have had something in place here

[andy-hughes]

divebuddy - it is clear from the situation as described, and the comments from the manager, that this employee is not employed as a standard check-out operative, otherwise she would come into daily contact with prohibited items, and would be unable to do the job.

The lady in question does not usually work in a role which requires her to sell alcohol, but was placed in such a role by the store management, which is why they have acknowledged that the fault and responsibility are theirs, and not hers.

I know you want to try and spin this so that an uppity Muslim is playing fast and loose with British values, and refusing to do the job she is paid for because of her religion, but it's not the case.

[bednobs]

YMB, i disagree with you that religion is the root of all evil. If all religion were abandonned tomorrow, there would still be people (mainly men) who wanted to hurt and subjugate people, to carry out atricities and to bang on about how they are right to the exclusion of all others. They would just find another framework to hang it on. In that respect religion is very human, with all of human frailties

[mushroom25]

//^Once again AB froze part way through typing and the only way out was to submit unfinished//

frequently AB towers ask us, the users, to tell them what they could do better.

every time, this issue gets a mention.

every time, they promise to do something about it.

every time, nothing happens.

every time, the needle returns to the start of the song and we all go along like before.

it's the same extremely badly written advert "long running script" issue.

(sorry to divert but you shouldn't have got me started)

[andy-hughes]

fiction-factory - that is essentially the root of the issue here.

People have taken umbrage because a Muslim has refused to serve alcohol, declining to see the bigger picture, which is that her normal job exempts her from doing so, and this situation was caused by an error on the part of the store management.

Hence the endless posts about people not picking and choosing, and being sacked for not doing their job, and so on and so on, none of which is remotely relevant to what has actually happened.

[Mamyalynne]

Precisely, my first job was in retail and one colleague couldn't reach the top shelves easily and there was a lack of space behind the counter for steps so a taller colleague was called in.

Another young lady had only one hand and cutting some of the items was a problem though she was very adept at all her other duties - again assistance was called for.

It added a few minutes if that to any transaction.

Off topic but years ago my Catholic GP wouldn't even discuss Family Planning with me, should he have been removed from his job? Of course not.

[Zacs-Master]

Tesco's HR policy states:
We aim to employ people who re ect the diverse nature of society and we value the contribution made by every colleague, irrespective of age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, race, colour, religion, ethnic origin or political belief. At our stores, in our distribution centres and in our of ces, we make employment decisions solely on the basis of job-related skills, achievements and performance, using clearly de ned and
fair criteria.

It's not the woman's fault. People who are suggesting it is either haven't read the article or don't understand the circumstances.

[sp1814]

Reading the bit at the end of the story reveals what happened.

The staff member in question was put in a kiosk. In Tesco, I assume it was the cigarette kiosk (but it may have been another, determined by the size of the store).

If at this particular store, alcohol is normally not purchased there, Tesco was doing the right thing in placing the staff member there.

However, unless the store has a policy which states that nothing but cigarettes (or whatever) can be bought at the kiosk, then customers should be allowed to pay there, and if the staff member in question cannot sell the product for whatever reason, they should call another member of staff over to assist, whilst serving someone else.

The fault here lies with Tesco for

a) putting a member of staff in a position of conflict
b) not having the appropriate protocols in place for dealing with something that could be resolved very easily.

[ichkeria]

The "gay cake" affair was not Tesco.
And regardless of whether the bakers were right or wrong, it is not the same thing. A comparable incident would be Tesco declaring itself to be an islamic store, receiving a request from someone to get them some alcohol, and Tesco refusing. It then depends whether you think a business that bakes and sells cakes has an obligation to bake whatever it is asked. I believe that it does not, and Peter Tatchell, I recall, agreed,

[-Talbot-]

Talbot
I didn't say Muslim beliefs, I said 'religious' beliefs




andy-hughes
Indeed you did, I referred to the impact of Muslim beliefs on the day-to-day lives of adherents, simply because it is more apparent there than in a faith like, for example, Christianity.

As to the wider question of why religious beliefs should be placed above others, I really can't answer that

______________________________


That is where you should have stopped your post

[sp1814]

YMB

In answer to you OP, the difference is that the customer could not sue the cashier for refusing to serve him. He would have to sue Tesco (being the owner). As he was served by the store manager, he has no recourse to the law.

[youngmafbog]

Thanks SP, Andy did answer similarly somewhere above.

[andy-hughes]

Talbot - //That is where you should have stopped your post //

I'll try and remember that next time.

Note to self - additions to posts when advised they are finished is not permitted.

Likewise, thinking while posting is not acceptable.

OK now?

[sp1814]

andy-hughes

I wanna join in.

You should've stopped before 'OK now'.

[andy-hughes]

sp - I know, I'll put my fingers on the keys ready to type a response, and then stop there - that should be better!!

Whad'ya think????

[TWR]

Tesco / Asda / Sainsbury / Morrisons, advertise for a shop assistants, the shops are known to sell anything from Veg>> Food >> Alcohol>> Durex>>paint??Bed Sheets>> near enough anything you want & the public know this, if you know theses stores sell these Items why apply for the Job? is this another case of "Change the rule to suit me" or have I missed something here?

[andy-hughes]

You've missed something.

If the store is prepared to work around the employee in order to employ a diverse mix of people, then that is the store's choice, not the employees' demand.

[TWR]

We like a few towns / Cities around the UK have Muslim Taxi Drivers, all over Xmas they have picked up drunks passengers carrying bottles of wine, do they moan?