British Retailer Marks & Spencer In Muslim Staff Row

[icyfroth]

BRITISH retailer Marks & Spencer is facing criticism after it emerged that it allows Muslim staff to refuse to sell customers pork and alcohol.

More than 8000 people have signed up to a Facebook page calling for a boycott of the chain after an "extremely apologetic" Muslim checkout worker told a customer they would have to wait for another employee to sell them a bottle of champagne.

M&S, which is Britain's biggest clothing retailer as well as selling food and homeware, said that when employees have religious beliefs that restrict what foods or drinks they can handle it tries to place them in a "suitable role".

"We regret that in the case highlighted we were not following our own internal policy," a company spokeswoman said on Monday.

"As a secular business we have an inclusive policy that welcomes all religious beliefs whether across our customer or employee base."

But the "Boycott Marks and Spencer" Facebook page said the policy was an affront to "common sense".

The issue emerged after an unnamed customer told the Daily Telegraph newspaper the worker had refused to sell them champagne at a London store and that they would have to wait for another till to become available.

"I was taken aback," the customer told the newspaper. "I was a bit surprised. I've never come across that before."

Drinking alcohol and pork consumption are forbidden in Islam.

The row highlighted differences among British retailers' policies on whether staff should be allowed to refuse to sell certain products on religious grounds.

Like M&S, supermarket chains Asda, Morrisons and Tesco said Muslim staff would not have to work on the tills if they objected to handling specific products.

But the head of high street retailer John Lewis said staff should not have the right to refuse to serve customers.

"This is taking it one stage beyond common sense," managing director Andy Street told BBC radio.

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How ridiculous! Why would you place staff in a situation like that? And why would you as a muslim seek a job where you may be required to handle alcohol and pork?

[i-need-a-martini]

An interesting comment came up while I was reading through the anti-muslim garbage about this issue - M&S employs underage checkout staff who are not allowed to legally sell alchohol. If they get a customer with alchohol at the counter they are supposed to call for a supervisor to put the sale through.

The comment from the angry customer didn't specify the reason why she couldn't be sold the champers. Simply that "'I had one bottle of champagne, and the lady, who was wearing a headscarf, was very apologetic but said she could not serve me. She told me to wait until another member of staff was available".

Sounds like a beat up to me.

[**meep**]

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@icyfroth wrote:

I spose if you touched it, pork mainly, you could accidently touch you lips with your hands and be contaminated that way.

But as it says in the article, it's a lack of common sense both of the retailer to roster muslim staff in a position where their religious beliefs would be compromised and on the part of the muslim staff member to consent to even work in a department where they could come into contact with such items.

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then you wash your hands after touching pork or wear plastic cloves.

can you imagine the restrictions on the types of supermarket duties?? 

i have never worked in a supermarket but what else is there apart from serving customers, stacking shelves and cleaning?  all those carry potential 'risks'.

i dunno......as Martini said, something smells fishy lol

[**meep**]

Sainsbury’s guidance advises that all staff — regardless of religious beliefs — are able to handle meat and alcohol. In other words, the same rules apply to everyone, irrespective of religion.

“If a [religious] belief involves not eating or drinking something in particular, they can still handle the food or drink as part of their job,” said a Sainsbury’s source.

The supermarket added that it would consult on a “case-by-case basis” if need be.

Morrisons said it had been a long-standing, unwritten rule that Muslim staff could opt out of serving alcohol.

A Morrisons spokesman said: “We would respect and work around anyone’s wishes not to handle specific products for religious or cultural reasons, regardless of the time of year.”

A Tesco spokesman said: “We don’t have a specific policy and take a pragmatic approach if a colleague raises concerns about a job they have been asked to do.”

She added: “It would not make sense to have somebody on the till if they cannot handle certain items.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10532782/Muslim-staff-at-Marks-and...

[**meep**]

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@i-need-a-martini wrote:

An interesting comment came up while I was reading through the anti-muslim garbage about this issue - M&S employs underage checkout staff who are not allowed to legally sell alchohol. If they get a customer with alchohol at the counter they are supposed to call for a supervisor to put the sale through.

The comment from the angry customer didn't specify the reason why she couldn't be sold the champers. Simply that "'I had one bottle of champagne, and the lady, who was wearing a headscarf, was very apologetic but said she could not serve me. She told me to wait until another member of staff was available".

Sounds like a beat up to me.

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but if M&S have issued a statement that they give permission to their Muslim Staff to refuse serving customers who buy pork or alcohol then maybe it was not a case of underage checkout staff restrictions to sell alcohol.

i have read that comment from the customer, she didnt seem angry, just surprised:

One customer, who declined to be named, said: “I had one bottle of champagne, and the lady, who was wearing a headscarf, was very apologetic but said she could not serve me. She told me to wait until another member of staff was available.

“I was taken aback. I was a bit surprised. I’ve never come across that before.”

[lyndal1838]

For heavens sake....the alcohol is in a bottle and I have no doubt the pork is appropriately wrapped/packaged.  How is that going to contaminate a person who scans it through the checkout?

What happens if everyone refuses to handle foodstuff that are not allowed by their religion?  Muslims will not touch pork or alcohol, in fact many religions do not allow pork, Catholics won't touch meat on Fridays, many Hindus will not eat beef....the list goes on.  Surely, as long as they are not expected to handle the raw, unwrapped product it is not unreasonable to expect anyone to scan items through a checkout.

[lakeland27]

hard to know the true story from that source.  newsltd love to stir up racial /religious tripe because it seems to have a following..

[izabsmiling]

the reaction of many to the action of one person lacks common sense imo.

My step mum once gave a hand over to other nursing staff naming each patient and saying they had died (which of course they hadn't) 

It was up to those who supposedly had common sense to think and not stampede the hospital and/or think all nurses (as a group) everwhere would do as she did ..because of her actions and words.

at that stage she had an undiagnosed brain tumour .

I've had meat leak blood out of it's wrappings ... I don't care if the staff member is a vegan or pregnant and queasy or if it's due to anything else that individual may not feel comfortable with.I have no problem with being made aware of that (like I might a worker with hearing/sight impairments ) and working around that as I suggested previously.I don't understand other people not thinking that's reasonable and seeing that that is easily overcome.

Why the outrage ,the fb complaints? from the reactions and actions of one person ? Where is the common sense in those reacting ?

[**meep**]

Why the outrage ,the fb complaints? from the reactions and actions of one person ? Where is the common sense in those reacting ?

So what actually happened?  What are the customers actually complaining about?  What are the comments on M&S Facebook about?

[**meep**]

it appears, from what i have been able to read (the posts are being removed) the customers are complaining about the store's policy, since it has been announced.....or something like that.....

[lakeland27]

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@**meep** wrote:

Why the outrage ,the fb complaints? from the reactions and actions of one person ? Where is the common sense in those reacting ?

So what actually happened?  What are the customers actually complaining about?  What are the comments on M&S Facebook about?

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 disgruntled UKIP members .