Religion and Belief Guidance for Managers - July 2026
In this section
- 1. Introduction
- 2. The Council’s Approach
- 3. Establishing the Religion or Belief is Genuine
- 4. Steps Managers Should Take to Deal with a Request
- 5. Questions to Ask to Ensure the Employees Approach to a Religion or Belief Request is Justified
- 6. Promoting a Particular Religion or Belief when at Work?
4. Steps Managers Should Take to Deal with a Request
Review practices to ensure that they do not unjustifiably discriminate against an employee who requests a change due to a particular belief. Think about how to respond were such a situation to arise in the future.
Managers should take all requests seriously and should not make assumptions about the significance of a religion or belief or disregard a request because it is made by only one employee. Even those who have the same religion may not share the same beliefs or practices.
Managers should take as their starting-point consideration as to how to accommodate the request unless there are compelling reasons not to do so, assessing the impact of the change on other employees, the operation of the business and other factors outlined in Section 5.