Question

What is your role as a HR Manager if a recent hired employee request for weekends off and 30 minute prayer time each day for his religion? The employee did not disclose the need during interview and stated he could work weekends during his interview.

Answer 1

As a HR manager, I will have to give the 30 minute prayer time each day to the employee even if he did not mention it during the interview. According to law, employers have to give employees “reasonable accommodations for religious practices”.

According to law, an employer cannot make an employee work more than the legally allowed number of hours per week. The employee can be made to work during the weekend and adjusted with an off during the remaining week. As an HR manager, I can make the employee work during the weekend as long as it does not exceed the total number of hours that he has put in during the week. Moreover, during the interview he said he could work during weekends