Muslim staff at Marks & Spencer can refuse to sell alcohol and pork in UK stores
Is this a positive way to respect the beliefs of employees or should Muslims
who have applied to work in a certain industry not therefor fulfil the job description?

Your thoughts lads ?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer etc ...

My thought is that the question as posed by you is leading.

What is the "job description"? Is handling pork or alcohol an essential charaacteristic of the job? Marks and Spencers is not primarly a pork butchers or an off-licence where handing one of those would an essential part of a shop-floor worker's role.

In Ireland, supermarkets are required by law to exempt certain sals staff from selling alcohol on age grounds -- hence the signs saying "Alcohol Can Be Sould At This Checkout" in Tesco. It's a short step to accommodting Muslims with that.

Imagine the uproar if a customer was refused service on these grounds....There will be a lot of arguments around till areas, between staff and irate customers..

Theres no signes up at Tesco tills saying Pork can be sold at this till. The job is the job, end of. U either agree to do it fully or u don't. It means I've to join a longer que just to buy a can of beer. Next ull have women hating male sales staff refusing to sell tampons. Bolloxology. U either do the work or don't apply for the position in the first place.

Spare a thought for the Muslim barman.

I think that's mad, sure lots of Muslim people sell alcohol at their businesses.

I work at tesco and I'm allowed to refuse to sell foods with salt in them because salt is against my religion.
There's nothing strange about that.
By the way, where does it say in the Koran that drinking alcohol is a sin or selling alcohol is a sin?

Presumably staff who don't wish to handle these goods will be moved to shelf stacking or drapery. It wouldn't make sense to have them on the checkouts.

its a reasonable assumption that a grocery store sells pork and alcohol and also who hasn't heard of m and s so those tasks are pretty much implicit in the job description. I think halal abattoirs should be illegal in ireland and the uk too.

That makes sense.

They allowed so many in since decolonisation that a powerful pressure group demanding concessions to political Islam now exists. We would do well to be mindful of that when deciding from where we allow large-scale immigration.

This demand on its own is not dangerous but the risk is it could be the thin end of the wedge.

I wonder what would happen if the catholic staff in M and S said they wouldn't sell condoms.

Saudi Men refusing to serve women
Jewish people refusing to work Saturdays
If you are a Zen Buddhist I don't advise pest control as a career.

So you give the muslims shelf stacking rather than cash register then they refuse to handle anything with traces of pork.

If it offends you or your beliefs then work somewhere else.

Yes, they can replace the Christians who have problems with the selling of clothing made from more than one material and the selling of razors, condoms etc

I wonder can vegetarians do the same.