A man has settled a religious discrimination case against a Belfast hotel for £10,000 (€11,500) after he said a job offer was revoked due to him not being able to work certain hours.
Jonathan Kerr took the case, which was supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, against Pandox Belfast Limited, known as Hilton Belfast.
It was settled without admission of liability.
Mr Kerr, a practising Judeo-Christian, applied for a night porter role with the hotel. He observes the Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset and does not work for an hour before or after sundown.
He said he was open about his religious observance from the beginning of the recruitment process and sought clarification regarding shift patterns.
He specified in writing that he would be unable to work from 3pm on a Friday to 11pm on a Saturday.
After a successful job interview, Mr Kerr received an offer of employment.
He signed a contract, which included an additional letter from human resources confirming that he was unable to work from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday.
However, his job offer was revoked three days before he was due to work his first shift.
He said he was informed via email that it would be unfair to the rest of the team for one person to be off every Friday night and that the hotel required someone who was completely flexible, especially on a zero-hours contract.
Mr Kerr emailed the company to ask if he had been in a position to work on Fridays would his offer of employment have been retained.
He said the response he received said it would be fine if he was able to work on a Friday because they could ensure fairness throughout the entire team.
“I was really upset and distressed to know that I had completed the recruitment exercise successfully but yet was denied the opportunity to work because of my adherence to my faith,” Mr Kerr said.
“I made them aware of my religious observance obligations from the start of my application.
“I felt such a failure because I was unable to work and provide for myself”.
Mary Kitson, senior legal officer at the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, said: “Employers must ensure that their policies, procedures and practices are lawful.
“Where an employer operates a rule or policy that looks the same for everyone but in effect disadvantages people from a particular religious belief, they must show the reason for the rule or policy, what alternative arrangements they considered and why these could not be implemented.
“They must be able to demonstrate that their approach was appropriate and proportionate”.
In settling the case, Hilton Belfast has affirmed its commitment to the principle of equality and opportunity.
It has agreed to liaise with the Equality Commission of Northern Ireland to review its equal opportunities policies, practices and procedures to ensure they conform with the requirements of the Fair Employment and Treatment (NI) Order of 1998.
