Ramadan at Workplace- A Guide to the HR

Beginning from this week Nigerian Muslims will join over 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide in welcoming a fasting period that will last for up to 30 days. Among the Muslims that are required to fast during this blessed month are significant number working in offices and various businesses. Depending on when the moon is sighted, Muslims in these workplaces will once again commence their annual spiritual and physical cleansing exercise while at work.

Employers’ recognition of the commencement of Ramadan and commending their Muslim employees for their faith is not a special treatment but simply the best practice and also a show of care. These gestures will demonstrate respect to their cultural diversity, equal opportunity employment, and will only make the employees feel they are being taken care of, understood on a personal level and their religious interest recognized and respected. Also, through an initiative to include Muslim employees diversity on observing the fast in workplaces, a business will experience greater retention, morale and ultimately productivity amongst its Muslim workforce.

As most fasting Muslim employees will observe most of their fast at workplaces, the questions in the mind of some include “How would I excuse myself from dinner, or a meeting where alcohol will be served?” HR should be aware that the spiritual aspects of the fast also include avoiding irreligious sights and sounds and as such should arrange to meet employees concerns fully and determine whether a compromise can be reached on issues of concern to their employees.

Such a compromise may include something as simple as not setting buffets next to someone’s desk at work who was fasting; a manager not insisting on a Muslim colleague attend a working lunch and adequate time given at the time to break the fast to drink and eat properly. Colleagues who are fasting would not expect those who are not fasting to abstain from eating or drinking in their presence but those not fasting, out of courtesy, may excuse themselves and try not to eat or smoke around people who are fasting. Making these accommodations for your employees certainly builds up goodwill and reduces the rigors of fasting for the employees when the pace of work has to continue as normal.

Other guidelines that MPAC recommend to HR to adopt include:

• Consider allowing special requests for annual leave, particularly in the last 10 days of the fasting period.
• Consider flexible working or changing shift rotas to accommodate breaking the fast. Since many Muslims will be fasting and won't need a lunch hour, employers may allow employees to shorten their workday by an hour during this month of fasting.
• Consider allowing extra time off to pray, especially at sunset.
• Avoid organizing social events during major religious festivals or scheduling important meetings for dusk when Muslims are due to break their fast so as not to exclude Muslims. Doing this may be an example of indirect discrimination.
• Consider allowing meal breaks at different times, for example lunch breaks at dusk to coincide with breaking the fast – and extending these to non-Muslim employees to encourage integration.
• Issue Ramadan greetings to your Muslim employees: issue a public notification that Ramadan is here and congratulate all Muslim employees on this occasion. Also, you may consider organizing Iftar (fast breaking dinner) for your Muslim employees who work late.
• Muslims usually pray five times a day, every day, during the entire year. Muslim employees make a special effort at Ramadan to fulfill this obligation. Employers should consider establishing a quiet place for prayer time, which lasts no more than 10 minutes, and all five sessions will not necessarily be observed during an eight-hour work hour/shift.
• Employers may also use the opportunity of this period to review their policies on dress codes to accommodate Muslim employees who may choose to comply with the Islamic dress code.
• Respond swiftly and decisively to discrimination- commitment to no-discrimination policy should be one of the strength of a progressive employer.

MPAC urges employers to check that their policies are fair, equitable, inclusive and non-discriminatory. Adhering to some or all of these guidelines will demonstrate to employees that their employers better understand the holy month of Ramadan and what it means to Muslims. Reaching such an impeccable understanding is ultimately good, not only for business, but also for personnel integration and spirit of teamwork.

The Muslim Public Affairs Centre, MPAC, is a registered Muslim public service agency that works for the rights of all Muslims, for the integration of Islam into Nigerian pluralism, and for a positive relationship between Nigerian Muslims and other elements in the society. Thus establishing the Nigerian Muslim identity as a positive and constructive element of Nigerian pluralism.