Our company is regularly contacted by clients with labor disputes. Be it employers or employees. Recently, our regular clients contacted us with a problem. Their former employee wrote a pre-trial claim to the Employer citing discrimination, due to the fact that the employer asked not to read Namaz in the workplace. By the way, the workplace is a store. That is, the place is not conducive to conducting such rituals. Let’s turn to labor legislation and see what we consider discrimination in labor.
Article 6 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan establishes that “No one can be subject to any discrimination in the implementation of labor rights on the grounds of origin, social, official and property status, gender, race, nationality, language, attitude to religion, beliefs, place of residence, age or physical disabilities, membership in public associations or other circumstances.”
Now let’s define what is considered discrimination in labor?
Discrimination in labor is the infringement of the rights of citizens, namely the individual, on any basis (age, race, gender, social status, etc.) by the employer in the labor rights established by law.
The legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan does not provide for the employer’s obligation to provide additional time, place and opportunity for Employees to conduct religious rites. Of course, this condition can be stipulated when hiring, but in the case of our clients, this was not the case.
Moreover, the Supreme Mufti of Kazakhstan gave an explanation on this topic – and there it was also explained that the employer’s requirement not to conduct religious rites is not an infringement.
In addition, the Employee has the opportunity to change jobs to one where the performance of religious rites does not interfere with the activities of the enterprise.