Type the words “Sainsbury’s”, “alcohol” and “Muslim” into Google and you will find page after page of consumer rants posted in online forums. The outcry follows Sainsbury’s announcement last month that its devout Muslim employees have been given the right to refuse to sell alcohol to customers. Those Muslim staff with objections can raise their hand so a colleague can step in.
Credit must be given to Sainsbury’s and other organisations that are so willing to accommodate the religious beliefs of their colleagues. However, the issue raises questions about the extent to which retailers can be expected to make such exceptions for employees who are fully aware of the types of products the retailer sells when they accept the job.
Furthermore, if such flexible working practices become standard in every business, where do employers draw the line? Strict vegetarians could refuse to sell leather in a fashion store or gelatin-based products in a supermarket. Devout Catholics could refuse to sell condoms or the morning-after pill in chemists. Practising Jews could refuse to sell pork, seafood or non-kosher meat. All of which could mean that, in a busy retail sales environment, customers are left disgruntled and sales are lost.
It should be pointed out firstly, though, that Sainsbury’s decision is not a formal blanket policy and the supermarket does say that the number of its colleagues who do find it uncomfortable to sell alcohol is relatively few. In response to angry customers’ postings on its online forum, a customer services e-mail from Sainsbury’s explains: “This is a decision that is made at store level, as it depends on the needs of the store in question.”
Sainsbury’s adds that it is not trying to develop a religious policy, but, instead, it is attempting to show understanding of colleagues’ individual lifestyles. “If one of our colleagues is a vegan and asks not to work on the meat or delicatessen counters, we will try to accommodate that request by finding them another area of the store in which to work. Similarly, we will ask a less able colleague to do whatever work they are capable of doing in-store and will not give them tasks that their disability will prevent them from carrying out,” it says.
A Tesco spokesman insists the public and media furore has stemmed, essentially, from nothing: he says Tesco’s devout Muslim staff would also not have to sell alcohol if it was against their wishes. “It’s nothing new. The situation has been unchanged for years. If someone feels deeply uncomfortable selling alcohol, the store manager is there to look at ways around it. Flexibility is key,” he says. He also maintains that everything is done with the interests of customers in mind.
However, if you look at some of the internet postings, most customers who have taken the time to speak out say they are outraged and, despite lengthy searches, none were found who support the grocer’s approach. The impression is that many consumers feel it is histrionic political correctness on the part of a business that is ranking customer requirements below those of the people that are paid to help them in their stores.
Tesco’s spokesman dismisses this viewpoint. “If the customer thinks they would be inconvenienced, they would be wrong,” he says. “It’s just the same as when someone working on the checkout is under 18 and a customer has alcohol. They have to call someone over.” But many shoppers might find this argument less than convincing. Calling for assistance, for whatever reason, will inevitably slow the sale. All they want to do is pay for their goods and leave as quickly as possible.
If hordes of employees suddenly started objecting to selling certain goods they are not comfortable with, it would be a logistical nightmare. Take Sainsbury’s for example – moving a vegan colleague from the meat or delicatessen counter to work in a different area of the store is straightforward. However, allowing strict vegetarians to call for assistance every time a customer queues up with meat, fish or gelatin-based products at the checkout might be rather more taxing.
Interestingly, despite a lengthy search online, it proved impossible to find Muslims who supported the move. Many say the opposite, in fact. Raz Jabbin, who writes about her life as a British Muslim for a local newspaper in Peterborough, says: “Even though I absolutely commend Sainsbury’s for its sensitive policy and consideration towards different religious beliefs, at the same time, it also raised a lot of questions for me. It seems paradoxical; the first question I would like to ask is that alcohol is in sweets, cakes, mouthwash and deodorants, so would the same rule apply? And, if it is wrong for a Muslim to handle alcohol under such circumstances, is it not wrong for them to work for a company that sells alcohol in the first place?”.
All part of the job
Shortly after Sainsbury’s made its announcement, Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, leader of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain, said: “This is overenthusiasm. One expects professional behaviour from people working in a professional capacity and this shows a lack of maturity.”
Inayat Bunglawala, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, says: “By selling alcohol, you are not committing a sin. You are just doing the job you are paid for. Muslim employees have a duty to their employer and in supermarkets, most people would accept that in selling alcohol you are merely passing it through a checkout. That is hardly going to count against you on the day of judgement.”
The number of Muslim colleagues who will refuse to sell alcohol to customers will probably be relatively few. After all, the Koran does not say Muslims are not allowed to handle alcohol – just that they are not allowed to drink it. Nevertheless, when it does happen, Sainsbury’s will run the risk of alienating its customers (see below).
Consumer opinion aside, the debate has highlighted the long list of challenges that store managers face. Audrey Williams, a partner at law firm Eversheds, who specialises in human resources, says: “It’s a critical mass issue. You can accommodate such requirements, but only up to a certain point until it affects the operation. On a practical level, where do you draw the line? There are also customer service issues to address.” She warns that store managers would need to be absolutely sure that there was consistency in the treatment of all staff with any kind of religious or philosophical beliefs.
“It is a grey area because yes, the employer is required to take it into account and it could form the basis of a legal challenge, but you have to weigh up individual requirements against business requirements. Where working practices might disadvantage particular groups, it’s only unlawful if you can’t put forward a reason for them being in place,” she adds.
Jayne Carrington, managing director of Right Corecare, which provides employee assistance programmes, commends Sainsbury’s approach. “This is about celebrating the values and beliefs of the people that work for them,” she says. She advises employers to equip their store managers with the skills to be able to have “potentially difficult conversations” with their colleagues. “Managers can make all the difference if they are sensitive to a situation and, to do this, they need to be given training, guidance and support,” she says. She also recommends that when recruiting, employers are clear from the outset about what a particular role will involve. “This makes for a far more harmonious working relationship,” she says.
Equally, though, Carrington adds that organisations need to point out that they are running a business and that staff should aim to ensure that personal beliefs impinge on its day-to-day operation as little as possible.
There is no escaping the fact that such incidents are likely to become increasingly prevalent in future. “An increasing migrant population, the fact that demographics are shifting towards an ageing workforce and a talent war will put even more pressure on retaining good staff; they [employers] will have to grapple with these issues more and more,” says Carrington.
From a legal viewpoint, Williams says it is ultimately the employer’s decision as to whether they are able to accommodate such needs. But, she warns, “the one that says no needs to think that through with great care and consideration”. As much as many people won’t want to admit it, shifting business practices will often prove difficult for the store manager, other colleagues and customers.
Although Sainsbury’s willingness to be accommodating is admirable, it may well find that, in being so, it is making the business of running a store unnecessarily complicated.
What Sainsbury’s customers are saying:
“I find it highly offensive that an employee of a shop from which I am lawfully buying products should be entitled to regard me as morally inferior for doing so. I have no wish to have my act of buying a bottle of wine from Sainsbury’s subject to the implied condemnation of Islamic law. I would suggest that any shoppers who are subjected to this nonsense abandon the transaction before it is completed. Simply walk away before you pay, leaving your goods stacked up at the checkout. A few hold-ups in a few stores on a busy Saturday will soon bring the management to its senses.”
Anonymous
“Sainsbury’s really needs to start thinking clearly. It should make it clear to all staff that working on the checkout involves handling all sorts of goods.”
Anonymous
“If I experienced a checkout delay forced upon me by someone else’s religious intolerance, I would feel like walking out and leaving all my shopping at the checkout. Wake up, Sainsbury’s – this is going too far.”
Anonymous
“Once Sainsbury’s has set the principle of giving dispensations of this kind to one religious group, it is hard to see how it will resist demands from others. Doing your weekly shopping could soon become a logistical nightmare of obstructions to your perfectly legal purchases.”
Barry Halford
A representative selection of customer comments from Sainsbury’s online form
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