Believer's work on Saturday no discrimination

The employer who wants his religious employee to work on Saturday commits no discrimination, Czech ombudsman Pavel Varvarovsky said today, commenting on the case of two employees who had turned to him with their problem.

The two are members of the Seventh-Day Adventist church that considers Saturday the day of rest.

Their employer initially took an accommodating approach to them and did not order them to work on Saturdays. But this changed after the women switched to work positions in a continuous operation regime.

Varvarovsky said the employer made no mistake. It is up to employees to decide whether to put their religious principle above their job or vice versa.

Varvarovsky was referring to interesting cases he handled as the ombudsman, public protector of people's rights, in the second quarter of 2011.

The two women complained to him about the employer discriminating against them by forcing them to work on Saturdays.

The employer, for his part, argued that free Saturdays would mean inequality as they would be an advantage the women would enjoy at the cost of the rest of the staff.

Employers must not indirectly discriminate against believers. However, the anti-discrimination law does not bind them to actively respect the limitations some people feel subject to in connection with their religion, Varvarovsky said.

"It is necessary that the employees, too, took accommodating steps simultaneously," he added.

Brno, July 28 (CTK)