Myself and a colleague have been accused of being racist!?

Now then as Managers where we work we have had to take a few members of staff on secondments to answer phones and take orders.
Now one of the girls who i know quite well and i'm very friendly with her sister is muslim and wears the head gear wanted one of the secondments. We said no for 2 very good reasons 1 she will not be able to answer phones because we use 1 ear headsets and she won't be able to hear the customer which she herself has confirmed she can't hear due to her head wear. She is not allowed to use a standard telephone as health and safety won't allow it due to acoustic shock, thats why we have specialist headsets. Second reason was she refused to take calls on the sales floor due to the same fact that she could not hear the customer (even though when she applied she said she could hear) so she was given an offline role which p issed all the other staff off as offline roles are like gold dust. Now we are being accused of being racist as we have said we are unable to offer

Her a secondment. We dont have an offline function available for her. We do have an offline advisor who deals with our complaints but we have refused to take her off that work due to her experience and now we are being accused of racial preference.
So my question is this, Are we being racist because we refuse to change our entire department around to accomodate one person who can't even do the work required?

You are not being racist, no. Don't worry about it, you have done nothing wrong. You have very good and logical reasons are to why you refused her, and anyone else with half a brain will realise that. They'll also see that's she's the one being pathetic playing the race card.

It's got nothing to do with race, it has to do with her being able to perform her job. Make a blanket company policy about clothing requirements, which prevents hats of any kind. Then she can't claim special treatment.

Cant do right for doing wrong, can you? Some ppl just use the 'racist' card for effect. It's pathetic.

Do you have any of that in writing? And what have you done to check that the headgear actually blocks the sound. Headsets are used all over the world. I'm surprised that they can't be used with a scarf. You need evidence to back your case, otherwise it looks bad for you.

So she has actually gained a much sought after job because she wears a head scarf! I can see why everyone else is crying Racism! You can bet it the shoe was on the other foot the Muslim would be screaming Racism

No you are not. If she was hired for a certain position then she needs to perform that job or seek other employment. She knew what the job was when she interviewed for it. There is no need to accommodate her in anyway. People need to realize jobs are not a right they are a privilege. If we do not perform the job that we are hired to do there are many others out there that will.

obsolutely not. if she can't meet the requirments for the job, it's not your fault!!

I think you provide very fair reasons. just be carefull though, didn't someone try to sue a local hairdresser not too long back because the hairdresser said that she wanted her employees to show their hairstyles off?

so what are you gonna do now anyway?

Provide an In-Ear type headset which fits under the headscarf. We have a number of people who have headscarves who use these and they work fine. There are the occasional awkward members using their religious attire to cause problems, but there are many others who use other reasons as well so its not confined to religion at all.

I would stick to your guns if i were you, especially if the person concerned has lied about being able to do the job in the first place.

Political correctness will kill us all.
1) always divorce yourself from working with people you know.
2) HR rules should apply here: That is a worker can only do a job of work where they are capable and able to complete that work. However in this world we have created you should take all reasonable actions to try to find a way for that to be completed. e.g. in this case can you obtain higher power speaker sets for use?

In my view there is NO case to answer for any racial discrimination.
The other staff could have a case against you for you giving a good job to someone you know!!

No, I do not believe you are a racist. Nowadays that is the first thing everyone yells when they don't like the outcome to a situation. The fact that you even hired her shows you are not a racist. If you were, she wouldn't have gotten hired. Good luck.

You are no racist, she is an opportunist.

I think you have been set up by this woman - there is obviously no way she could do the job you are referring to and to call you racist - well the mind boggles! She is obviously looking for a pay-off via the industrial tribunal.

She should be able to stretch the ear headsets so she can hear. She should be able to adjust it. I have worn the earpieces over scarves and hat before. Her ears should be outside her headwear. If that duty is a requirement of the job she should be required to do the job. I don't think that the sitauation is racist, but there could be an arguement for the workers that have to do the work. I would definite;y contact your legal department and you state employment laws.

It isn't your fault that she is unable to meet the basic requirements. How can she possibly expect to do a good and efficient job if she is unable to help the customers because of her headscarf? In my opinion, she should be grateful she got a role which the other staff would give their right arms for, instead of throwing a childish fit. After all, it's not down to you that she can't do the job, it's down to her and her religious beliefs (I'm not condemning her religious beliefs, I am just saying that this is the reason she cannot do the job). Good luck, and I'm sure that whoever she complains to will tell her that you were in the right. xxxx

If she knows you that well and still has the gall to call you a racist, then she is nothing but a bi_ch. If she herself admits that she cannot do the job, then what the hell is she complaining about. Give her two choices:
1 Let it go as she knows that the only reason that she has not been given the position is because you respect her beliefs to wear her head gear
2 Give her the possition and then when the complaints come in about her, then you will have no option but to fire her.
As it is she has two choices. Alot more than some workers have. Tell her to get off her hight horse and stop expecting to be treated as different as she is the same as any other employee, if they cant do the job they were hired for then they are out the door.

Whats the point of working in call centre if you can't do the job your hired for? If this woman can't answer the phones because of the headgear she's wearing prevents her from being to hear the other person on the other end of the line would be pointless having her employed in your company.
Now she's been given a cusy job working on an offline role which is like gold dust in your company and other staffers are annoyed because she has been preferential treatment is unfair to the other staff and also smacks of racism because of her religion because these people are damn good at using this as an excuse. No if she can't do the job she was employed to do then she shouldn't be there give it to someone else who can do the job and let her go.
No I don't why you should have preferential treatment for just one person whatever their religion. I think she's being unreasonable and she is the one who is being racist. I would seek a lawyers advice then fire her she is driftwood she can't do the job she's employed to do there is no point in employing her.

i see nothing wrong i with what you have said

gosh, you can't win can you,we are always being accused of being racist. the gym i work at is a Ladies only fitness centre with stairs to get in. I've been accused of discrimination because wheelchairs can not get in. i understand that but our gym doesn't have any machines that would be suitable for someone in a wheelchair

how ridiculous - she admits she cant do the job so thats the end of it - what a position to be in - politcal correctness gone mad - i'm fed up with it all myself -i wish you loads of luck on this one really i do

You are in the right here. Shes the one playing the race card.
Stick to your guns.

It sounds to me that she lied on her application form, she said she could hear well and it turns out she cant.
Surly lieing on an apllicaton form would be grounds for dismissal

If she cant hear the phone, what the F is she doing in a call centre....? If she freely admits that she cant do the job then hand her a P45 on Friday.
This PC crap is turning people towards the extreme right (BNP etc.) and thats a road we definetely dont want to go down.
You aren,t racist, your doing your job as best you can.

nothing to do with race and everything to do with , "being fit for purpose". My last staff intake was a young muslim girl but she did not wear the headscarf, she is doing fantastically well in the call centre (with headset) and should soon be getting promotion - brilliant little worker. I would not take anyone whose ability to do the job correctly was hampered by incorrect clothing - same goes for sari's round machines.

If this one female has deceived you in hiring her then rid yourself of the blight.
You are not racist! You are practical and well intentioned but the worker has deceived you. Interview her again and ask the woman what her holy book says about deceit, and what punishment her holy book requires for such a transgression!

In the future be very discreet in who you hire for certain positions.

Islam is a Religion not a Race. Poo Poo the suggestion that it is a Race, it is not.

IF she is unable to do the job then she is technically redundant so just get rid of her, and then there will be no arguments.

Case dismissed!

If she's not fit for the job, then the job's not fit for her. Quite simple, really.....

As the headscarf or hijab is not obligatory under Islam, I don't think that any company should be forced to accomodate those who insist on wearing it to the detriment of their work.

Some muslims wear scarves which only cover their hair, leaving their ears free. Ask your colleague to try this method. If she refuses then give her a warning - after all, in effect she'd be refusing to work.

Anyway, how come the sister can do the job (presumably wearing similar clothing) but she can't? Is she swinging the lead?

Hardly racist. She just has to blame someone and that someone is you. You need to make a policy that no head wear is allowed. That way, she can't complain. And is she said initially that she could hear even with her head gear on, then she lied in the interview to get herself a job. Lying about weather she can hear or not is affecting her job. This is in effect just as bad as lying about her qualifications.

When I worked for Safeway as a Manager, we had the same issues with Muslims refusing to sell alcohol or even touch it, along with Jewish people not touching certain foods when serving on the deli.
Even at the interview stage you cannot ask questions around their religion as this would be discriminatory. What you have done is made reasonable adjustments which complies with the law.

You need to take her one side and say, "Look, when you applied for the job, you knew it was to answer phones. You have two options - either find a new job or start answering the phones."

get your line manager to refer it back to the HR director
BT should have a policy on this, give them the problem of finding the square hole for the square peg