Time off for religious observance: an employer’s guide
23 July 2026
The Equality Act 2010 protects employees from indirect discrimination due to their religion or belief. This may require employers to allow employees time off work so that they can, for example, take part in a particular religious festival or mourning ritual.
While most employers are aware that they need to consider an employee’s request for time off work for religious observance if the employee belongs to a widely recognised religion, they also need to be alert to requests that relate to some non-religious beliefs. There are limits to which beliefs are afforded legal protection, but there is no definitive or exhaustive list, and the question may need to be considered carefully. Also, even if the Equality Act 2010 protects a religion or belief, employers may be able to objectively justify refusing a request.
In this article, we explain what counts as a protected religion or belief, how to approach the question of whether to agree or refuse a request, and what to do if several employees ask for the same time off.
What counts as a religion or belief?
The Equality Act 2010 treats a religion or belief, including a philosophical belief, as a protected characteristic. This includes major religions and sects or denominations within those religions. An employee does not have to show that their belief is shared by other members of the same religion, and the definition has been broadly interpreted by employment tribunals. The requirements for protection, as established by the EAT in Grainger plc and others v Nicholson [2010] IRLR 4, include that the belief must:
be genuinely held;
be a belief and not just an opinion or viewpoint;
be a belief as to a weighty and substantial aspect of human life;
attain a level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance; and
be worthy of respect in a democratic society and not conflict with the fundamental rights of others.
Although case law indicates that support of a political party does not usually amount to a philosophical belief, the EAT commented in Grainger that being, for example, a committed Marxist could afford protection under the Equality Act 2010. The Grainger case involved an individual believing that they had a moral duty to act in a way that mitigated the impact of climate change, including persuading others to do the same, and the EAT held that this was a protected belief on the facts.
On the other hand, the Employment Appeal Tribunal decided in Thomas v Surrey and Borders Partnership [2024] EAT 141 that a worker’s belief in English nationalism (which involved discriminatory views against Muslims) was not protected under the Act. In that case, the worker espoused disdain and hatred for Islam and for Muslims, and his beliefs were found to be comparable with ideologies such as Nazism. His beliefs could not be protected because they conflicted with, and were destructive of, the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
If an employee asserts that they have a belief that requires them to take time off, for instance to attend a protest, their belief needs to be carefully assessed against the relevant criteria. We can advise you on this difficult area.
Does the employer have to agree to a request for time off?
If the employee’s religion or belief is protected under the Equality Act 2010, the main legal risk in refusing a request to take a religion-/belief-related holiday is that the employer indirectly discriminates against the employee. The employee’s argument would run that the requirement to work at certain times or on a certain day causes them a particular disadvantage because of their religion or belief. To defend this, the employer must show that the refusal is objectively justified.
Objectively justifying such a refusal is not quite as straightforward as it sounds, and employers should not assume that they can rely on this defence without careful consideration. Firstly, there must be a legitimate aim, or in other words, a real business need which justifies requiring the employee to attend work at the relevant time. Secondly, the requirement to attend work must be reasonably necessary in order to meet that business need, and there must be no other less disadvantageous way of meeting the need than to refuse the request.
Recognised legitimate aims include productivity, maintaining services to customers or patients, and ensuring workplace health and safety. However, it is important to remember that it is not enough to identify a legitimate aim which is engaged; it must also be reasonably necessary to refuse the request in order to achieve the aim. This means that if there was another option that had a less discriminatory impact on the individual making the request, the employer would not be able to justify the refusal. We can advise you on weighing up the business’s needs and the impact on the individual.
Related rights and risks
If a refusal is discriminatory, a further risk is that the employee could resign and claim constructive unfair dismissal.
Employers should also be aware of related statutory rights:
Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, shop and betting workers have the right to refuse to work on Sundays, regardless of their religion. There is no right for these workers to refuse to work on other days of the week for religious reasons.
An employee may have a right to time off work if a loved one has died, depending on the relationship to the deceased, via the statutory parental bereavement leave or bereaved partner’s paternity leave provisions. It is worth considering whether these rights apply when a request is made for time off work to take part in a mourning ritual. Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, employees will gain the right to one week’s bereavement leave following the death of certain individuals; this is expected to come into force in 2027.
What if several employees request the same time off?
Particular problems can arise if a business receives more requests for time off work to celebrate the same religious festival than it is able to accommodate.
A policy on taking time off for religious observance comes in particularly useful for managing expectations in this scenario. The policy could stipulate that requests will be granted on a first come, first served basis. Alternatively, if requests are all made in good time, names could be selected at random. It may also be worth considering a provision stipulating that if an individual is refused one year, they will be prioritised the next.
How we can help
We can provide practical advice on responding to a request for time off and help you ensure your business is in the best position possible, if you decide to turn a request down. We can also help you determine a fair and workable approach to receiving multiple requests for leave for the same event and prepare a policy to reflect this.
For further information, please contact the team at Synchrony Law.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.