Khan v NIC Hygiene (ET 1803250/04)

Mohammed Sajwal Khan was a Bus Cleaner at NIC Hygiene who applied to use all his annual leave and one week of unpaid leave to go on Hajj (religious pilgrimage to Mecca, taken once in a lifetime). Khan did not get a formal reply before going on Hajj, so was told by his line manager to assume the request had been granted and to go. When he returned from Hajj, Khan was dismissed for Gross Misconduct, with NIC Hygiene stating this leave was unauthorised.

The Employment Tribunal awarded Mr Khan £10,000 compensation and accepted that he had been discriminated against and unfairly dismissed. By not trying to accommodate Mr Khan’s religious requirement to go on Hajj or justifying a refusal to authorise his leave, NIC Hygiene was placing Muslim employees at a particular disadvantage and discriminating on the grounds of religion. As Mr Khan’s salary was reported to be £8,000 per annum, the award of £10,000 by the Tribunal sends a signal to other employers.

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Article on personneltoday.co.uk

Article on peoplemanagement.co.uk