Court rules it’s illegal to force employee to work on a sabbath day
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Forcing an employee to work on the day of the sabbath is Illegal and contrary to employment laws according to court ruling
Forcing an employee to work on the day of the sabbath is Illegal and contrary to employment laws according to court ruling.
The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi has ruled that it is illegal for an employer to force an employee to work on his or her worship day.
In a case pitting Scoline Anyango Ojung’a against her employer Nairobi Women’s Hospital, the court ruled in favour of the former.
Anyango Ojung’a moved to court to sue her employer Nairobi Women Hospital for terminating her services.
Ojung’a told the court that as a practicing Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA), she asked her employer to excuse her from working on those days.
“Consequently, Seventh Day Adventists do not work on this day. In order to observe this practice, the Claimant states that she asked the Respondent to excuse her from work on Saturdays,” read the judgment.
She explained that after negotiations, she came to an agreement to be working on the first Saturday of the month and dedicate the remaining three to worshipping.
“To compensate for the Saturdays that she was going to be off duty in any given month, the Claimant indicated her availability to work on Sundays since the institution works seven days a week,” read the court papers.
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On February 23, 2018, she asked to be excused from a meeting set for February 24, 2018, as the event coincided with her worship day and she had scheduled church activities on the same day.
She also sent a text message to a member of her employer’s management team on the subject, but her request to be excused from the meeting was declined.
Ms. Ojung’a hence argued that the refusal to allow her to attend to her worship day was in violation of her freedom of religion.
The court further noted that the fact that Ms. Ojung’a’s employer terminated her employment for failure to attend the meeting that coincided with her prayer day was unfair.
“I have observed in the preceding parts of this decision, it is clear to me that the Respondent not only terminated the Claimant’s employment without valid reason but also violated the Claimant’s freedom from discrimination and freedom of religion,” the court ruled.
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