Muslim professionals navigate their workplace’s drink culture in different ways. Some may choose to voluntarily withdraw themselves from staff events, while others may want to put forward alternative social events which cater to non-drinkers. Ayesha* decided to express to her manager on numerous occasions that, due to her religious beliefs, she did not feel comfortable attending events or venues that involved heavy drinking, such as pubs and horse races. Instead of attempting to accommodate Ayesha, her manager made her feel even more excluded. On one occasion, when Ayesha politely declined an invite as it was hosted in a pub, her manager commented: “that’s good, more money for us to spend on alcohol.” On another occasion, Ayesha’s manager responded to her suggestion of alternative work events by stating that she is a “minority” and therefore there is nothing that can be done about it. Her manager’s behaviour in the above examples fitted into a complex matrix of other incidents of discrimination which caused Ayesha to suffer depression and anxiety. Ayesha had to receive counselling as a result of the treatment she had endured in her workplace.
When Ayesha decided to start proceedings at the employment tribunal, the IRU assisted her by drafting key documentation, such as the schedule of losses, formalising witness statements, and allocating a lawyer from an external pro bono representation service to support the mediation process. One of many pieces of evidence which confirmed Ayesha’s experiences of discrimination was a witness statement confirming that Ayesha’s manager had on several occasions made derogatory remarks about Ayesha, calling her a “Baghdad bomber” and advising colleagues to “watch out if she is wearing a rucksack” (i.e., insinuating that she may be carrying a bomb). Following judicial mediation, Ayesha successfully secured a settlement from her company, and remarked: “I would not have gone as far as I did without the continuous support from the IRU”.