BOOK REVIEW

RELIGION, EQUALITY AND EMPLOYMENT IN EUROPE
The Case for Reasonable Accommodation

By Katayoun Alidadi

ISBN: 978 1 5099 1137 0

Hart Publishing/ Bloomsbury Publishing

www.hartpub.co.uk

ACCOMMODATING RELIGIOUS BELIEFS IN THE WORKPLACE: ARE THERE LIMITS?

An appreciation by Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers
and Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”

Religious diversity in the workplace: what is it … what effect does it have in a European context… is it a goal worth working towards and if so, how can it be achieved? These and numerous related questions are what author Katayoun Aldidi endeavours to answer in this significant new monograph published by Hart Publishing, a division of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

What is referred to as ‘reasonable accommodation’ is cited as the key legal concept under scrutiny here. In England and Wales at any rate, where words and word meanings are considered of prime importance in law, there’s going to be an almighty philosophical cum jurisprudential debate about what exactly constitutes ‘reasonable’ when what is deemed ‘reasonable’ is often a matter of private opinion influenced by public policy, or vice versa.

As for ‘accommodation’, the exact intent of this word in the context of the author’s arguments may escape some readers. But if it has acquired a meaning similar to that of the words ‘tolerance’ or ‘acceptance.’ then that is an argument that might be put forward with perhaps greater emphasis.
Fortunately, it is pointed out that ‘reasonable accommodation’ as a legal concept originated in the United States and was developed further in Canada. It was later extended in the US, to disability.

Elaborating on this theme, the book gets down to specifics, citing numerous cases in three countries, namely Belgium, the Netherlands and Britain (referring to the legal system of England and Wales, as opposed to the separate legal systems of Scotland and Northern Ireland).

As mentioned in her preface, the author discusses such matters as, to cite only a few examples, the wearing of headscarves, shaking hands (with members of the opposite sex), shoes and so forth in the workplace, specifically in Europe, although certain legislative developments in Canada and the United States are also mentioned.

As the author also points out, this is certainly a fast-growing area of law, but difficult to enforce and almost perilous to discuss as we come round once again to delicate matters of public policy and private opinion, the latter of which often holds that ‘headscarves’ for example, and other cranial coverings worn exclusively by women, are worrying outward symbols of an inner mindset which accepts male dominance and female subjugation. ‘Where’s the equality in that?’ they ask.

As for public policy -- policy makers in governments might have a read of this book bearing in mind that public policy-making decisions can influence the continuing development of the law, or be influenced or even subjugated by it.

Also – and rather interestingly -- note the on-off debate among certain scholars, some of them prominent Muslim scholars based at UK universities including Oxford, that ‘religious’ dress has little or nothing to do with religion; it is a cultural practice originating in the Middle East and for whatever reason, has not evolved anywhere else.

All that said, this is an impressive book and a distinguished work of scholarship. Copiously researched and carefully argued, it was conducted as part of an interdisciplinary EU-funded research project on secularism and religious diversity in Europe which culminated in the author’s doctoral thesis defended at the Catholic University of Leuven as part of RELIGARE, i.e. ‘Religious Diversity and Secular Models in Europe’.

Apparently, it’s the first full-length treatise to be published on this subject, which in the author’s words, deals with ‘religion and work as part of integration policies in Europe.’ It is all the more relevant, she adds, in the wake of the recent influx of millions of refugees from Muslim majority countries, who (we would add) quite obviously seek a better life in the relative safety and freedom of secular, democratic societies, all of which really do take religious tolerance very seriously indeed, as evidenced by the wealth of case law cited in this book.

With its table of (mainly) European cases and some interesting ones from Canada and the US, plus its extensive footnoting, this is a rich source of references for further research. Academics as well as comparative lawyers will doubtless be interested in this important and seminal work.

The publication date is cited as at 2017.