Religious Accommodation Policy

Intent

(Company Name) is an equal opportunity employer, and is wholly committed to the principles of workplace diversity. (Company Name) will take all reasonable steps to provide our employees with reasonable religious accommodation as required.

Religious Observance

Creed has been interpreted to mean “religious creed” or “religion.” While it is not possible to define these terms precisely, only beliefs, convictions and practices rooted in religion, as opposed to those that are secular, socially based or conscientiously held, are protected. Defined broadly, religion typically involves a particular and comprehensive system of faith and worship. Religion also tends to involve the belief in the divine, superhuman or controlling power. In essence, religion is about freely and deeply held personal convictions or beliefs connected to an individual’s spiritual faith and integrally linked to one’s self-definition and spiritual fulfillment.

Policy

(Company Name) is committed to respecting the religious beliefs and practices of all members of the community. (Company Name) endeavorsto accommodate employees who, by reason of a bona fide religious obligation must be absent from work for all or part of a regularly scheduled working day.

Religious observance may be accommodated through the normal scheduling of work. If the day of religious observance falls on a day the employee is scheduled to work, and may not be accommodated through the normal scheduling of work, the employee is entitled to use existing provisions for time off without loss of pay or have the day off without pay.

Because in most instances these days are known in advance, the employee should notify his/her Manager, Immediate Supervisor or Human Resources as early as possible in order that, if necessary, alternate plans can be made in the workplace.

Dress Code

(Company Name) shall strive to allow for religious accommodation where the accommodation does not conflict with established Health and Safety Policies, or where the work uniforms can be modified easily to permit the person concerned to wear the requireditem(s) of clothing. Clothing or gear with a health or safety rationale may constitute areasonable occupational requirement.

Break Policy

Some religions require that their members observe periods of prayer at particular timesduring a day. This practice may conflict with regular work hours or dailyroutines in theworkplace. (Company Name) shall work to accommodate the employee's needs, short ofundue hardship.

Possible forms of accommodation:

i)A modified break policy;

ii)Flexible hours, and/or

iii)Providing a private area for devotions.

Responsibility

The process of accommodating individuals is a joint obligation of (Company Name), the employee, and unions representing employees, where applicable. Those persons in senior administrative and managerial positions, such as Directors, Managers and Supervisors (hereinafter referred to as officers of (Company Name)) will generally be the first contact for employees requesting accommodation. Together, in consultation with Human Resources, and, where appropriate, medical practitioners and other third parties with specialized expertise, they will identify the most appropriate method of accommodation, which meets the needs of the employee in the most equitable and financially responsible manner.

Roles and Responsibilities

Person Requiring Accommodation

The employee will notify the appropriate officer of (Company Name) regarding the need for job accommodation. The employee will identify any known accommodation needs and will cooperate with reasonable requests for evidence establishing his/her accommodation needs. The employee will cooperate with (Company Name) in the accommodation process.

Officers of (Company Name)

If such person has reason to believe there is an accommodation need or s/he receives a request, he/she has the responsibility to promptly and positively initiate action on the request in a timely fashion upon becoming aware of the need and either work toward resolving the accommodation issue, or forward the issue to the next level officer who has the authority to affect the accommodation.

Human Resources

The Human Resources Department must be contacted for consultation and guidance. They will assist in the preparation of the accommodation plan. Directors and Managers are responsible for indicating the number and types of accommodations made annually, including numbers of employees on flex-time for accommodation, religious days granted, etc.

Human Resources shall be responsible for tracking and maintaining statistics on accommodation, including reports and statistics on the types and cost of accommodation made (without identifying individuals).

Responsive Dispute Resolution

The employee who has requested the accommodation may file a written complaint when they feel that their needs for accommodation is not being adequately met. The complaint is filed through the (Company Name) Human Resources department.

An employee retains their right to file a grievance under the appropriate union collective agreement or policy, where applicable.

Accommodation Constraints

Sometimes, it may not be possible to provide accommodation without causing unduehardship to the company. A measure ofaccommodation may be acceptable if it meets the needs of the person, to the greatest extentpossible, short of undue hardship, and if it respects the dignity of the person requiring theaccommodation.

The duty to accommodate is limited to those steps that may be required to accommodate,short of undue hardship. The burden of proving undue hardship lies with the personresponsible for providing the accommodation. Each option should be examined to decidewhether undue hardship will result. In determining whether or not an accommodationmeasure creates undue hardship, the following factors should be considered:

  • Cost: This includes the actual, present financial cost of carrying out anaccommodation measure, as well as any reasonably foreseeable costs whichmay arise. The cost to (Company Name) for providing theaccommodation may include operational costs which may be significantenough to constitute undue hardship.
  • Health and Safety Risks: Health and safety risks to the person requestingthe accommodation, as well as to other employees and/or the general publicare to be taken into consideration.The assessment of these factors shall be undertaken. Inno circumstances should discriminatory customer preferences or those of co-workers beconsidered valid factors when evaluating whether or not an accommodation measure willcreate undue hardship.

Acknowledgement & Agreement

I, (Employee Name), acknowledge that I have read and understand the Religious Accommodation Policy of (Company Name). I agree to adhere to this Policy and will ensure that employees working under my direction adhere to this policy. I understand that if I violate the rules set forth in the Policy, I may face punitive or corrective action up to and including the termination of my employment.

Name: ______

Signature:______

Date: ______

Witness: ______

Templates and policies from HRDownloads.com are provided for clients of our service. Customers may use this document as is, or as a starting point for their own documents. HRDownloads.com assumes no responsibility for the enforcement or effectiveness of its templates and policies. Always consult legal counsel before implementing any new policies or procedures at your organization.