Pertinent Facts
Kareem, a practicing Muslim who is of Indian decent, was employed as a customer service representative at a call center of ABC Corporation, an electronic device company selling cellular phones and tablets. After 8 months working, Kareem was dismissed for poor performance and excessive breaks during work time.
According to Kareem’s religion requirement, he has to pray five times per day, and before he prays, he has to wash his hands, face, arms and feet. During working at the call center, Kareem simply sneaked away from his desk and went to a hidden corner to complete his ritual by kneeling on a mat with his face down and his forehead resting on the mat and talking to himself. Michael, another customer service representative, …show more content…
According to The ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures, there are some principles for fair disciplinary procedures. The first step is to conduct any necessary investigations to establish the facts. Employers should hold an investigatory meeting with employee they want to discipline before the disciplinary. Then employers are supposed to inform the employee of his/her problem. The notification should give written evidence of the employee’s problem. And employers should also give employees opportunities and time to prepare to respond to their case. After notification, employers should hold a formal meeting with the employee to discuss the problem. In the meeting, employers should offer evidence and allegations against the employee and give employees a chance to ask questions and call relevant witnesses. Employees also should be allowed to bring accompany at the meeting and appeal after any formal decisions made(ASCS, 2015). In this case, the employers did the investigation but they did not inform Kareem about his performance problem. Kareem said that his supervisor Janet had no formal conversation with him talking about his performance and Janet admitted it. Either did the manager Thomas have conversation with Kareem before his decision to fire him. Obviously they did not hold a meeting about Kareem’s performance problem. Thus, this dismissal can be seemed as an unfair …show more content…
As shown in the interviews, Janet said they will only conduct performance evaluation once per year to all customer service representatives no matter they are new or not. So this evaluation system is also a reason why neither Janet nor Thomas had formal performance conversation with Kareem. To avoid situation in this case, employers can design a new evaluation method towards new hired employees. For example, conduct appraisal monthly and give feedback and advice to new employees. In time notification even warning would be a great way to help employees to get improved.
Avoid Religious Discrimination in HR Perspective
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “employers must reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious, ethical and moral beliefs or practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer” (EEOC). To provide religious accommodation, employers are supposed to offer adjustments to the work environment to avoid or solve conflict of employees’ religious belief and practices with workplace requirements. Common religious accommodations include flexible working time, modifications of policies, and job reassignment.
From HR perspective,
Kareem, a practicing Muslim who is of Indian decent, was employed as a customer service representative at a call center of ABC Corporation, an electronic device company selling cellular phones and tablets. After 8 months working, Kareem was dismissed for poor performance and excessive breaks during work time.
According to Kareem’s religion requirement, he has to pray five times per day, and before he prays, he has to wash his hands, face, arms and feet. During working at the call center, Kareem simply sneaked away from his desk and went to a hidden corner to complete his ritual by kneeling on a mat with his face down and his forehead resting on the mat and talking to himself. Michael, another customer service representative, …show more content…
According to The ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures, there are some principles for fair disciplinary procedures. The first step is to conduct any necessary investigations to establish the facts. Employers should hold an investigatory meeting with employee they want to discipline before the disciplinary. Then employers are supposed to inform the employee of his/her problem. The notification should give written evidence of the employee’s problem. And employers should also give employees opportunities and time to prepare to respond to their case. After notification, employers should hold a formal meeting with the employee to discuss the problem. In the meeting, employers should offer evidence and allegations against the employee and give employees a chance to ask questions and call relevant witnesses. Employees also should be allowed to bring accompany at the meeting and appeal after any formal decisions made(ASCS, 2015). In this case, the employers did the investigation but they did not inform Kareem about his performance problem. Kareem said that his supervisor Janet had no formal conversation with him talking about his performance and Janet admitted it. Either did the manager Thomas have conversation with Kareem before his decision to fire him. Obviously they did not hold a meeting about Kareem’s performance problem. Thus, this dismissal can be seemed as an unfair …show more content…
As shown in the interviews, Janet said they will only conduct performance evaluation once per year to all customer service representatives no matter they are new or not. So this evaluation system is also a reason why neither Janet nor Thomas had formal performance conversation with Kareem. To avoid situation in this case, employers can design a new evaluation method towards new hired employees. For example, conduct appraisal monthly and give feedback and advice to new employees. In time notification even warning would be a great way to help employees to get improved.
Avoid Religious Discrimination in HR Perspective
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “employers must reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious, ethical and moral beliefs or practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer” (EEOC). To provide religious accommodation, employers are supposed to offer adjustments to the work environment to avoid or solve conflict of employees’ religious belief and practices with workplace requirements. Common religious accommodations include flexible working time, modifications of policies, and job reassignment.
From HR perspective,