A Christian woman who says she was forced to give up her job because her employer declined her request not to work on Sundays has taken her case to the Court of Appeal.
The employee said she was forced from her job at a children’s home in south-west London after it refused to allow her to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest.
According to the employee, her employers initially agreed to not make her work on a Sunday due to her beliefs but had reneged on the promise within two years and were allocating her Sunday shifts and threatening her with disciplinary action if she failed to comply.
She originally took them to court after what she described as constructive dismissal but lost her case, as the judge claimed that having a Sunday off was “not a core component” of the Christian faith.
However, at the Court of Appeal, the case is expected to have far-reaching consequences for faith in the workplace, as three of Britain’s most senior judges will decide whether employers have a duty to provide a “reasonable accommodation” for the beliefs of Christian workers.
The employee claims that her offer to work for less and to work unpopular shifts, even when others had offered to work in her place on Sundays, was clearly a reasonable accommodation that her employer could, and should, have provided.
Under a new ruling from the European Court of Human Rights, the employee only has to prove that she herself holds the belief, not that it is a general rule which all Christians observe. Shopworkers are already guaranteed the right to refuse to work on Sundays, but other businesses must prove a legitimate need to force people to work.