Religion is a funny old business,
and has been around for as long as time itself. The Greeks, Romans and Pagans had gods for all seasons, my favourite by
far being Bacchus, the God of wine. Curiously as things turned out, Jews and Christians share the same God,
but from a different perspective.
Buddhists come and go, Muslims have the promise of untold
pleasures once they reach the promised land, and Sikhs have their long hair and
turbans to comfort them on the journey to eternal bliss.
Far be it from me to offer an
opinion on the one true faith. Belief in
one religion or another is invariably passed down from generation to
generation, with varying degrees of zealotry, which in turn incite hatred,
intolerance and an excuse for appalling crimes against non believers.
Were it ever thus! Religion, when used for the
betterment of mankind, can be a positive influence on society as a whole, and
if nothing else, adds a colourful dimension to an otherwise colourless but less
confrontational existence.
But before I get out of my depth,
I recall a recent ruling by an Employment Tribunal that a Sikh police officer
was the subject of unfair discrimination when he was told to replace his turban
with a standard issue helmet in preparation for riot training. He refused, presumably on grounds that it
offended his religious beliefs, and he was awarded the princely sum of £10,000
for his pain and suffering.
Sikhs are, if nothing else,
inventive when it comes to the conflict of religion and the law. I remember some years ago, when wearing
helmets became compulsory for motor cyclists, they came up with an adapted
helmet encased in a turban. That seems
to satisfy both parties, and life went on. But I wonder aloud what this particular Sikh must have anticipated when
he successfully applied to join the police force. Did he read the small print?
We’ve all seen riot police in
full combat uniform, faintly reminiscent of Robocop, but the sad reality is
that police officers routinely become the targets of gratuitous violence when
they seek to come between warring factions, and unless sensible precautions are
taken, serious injuries will follow.
I also wonder aloud what this
particular Sikh would have done if he had been consigned to desk duties to
accommodate his turban. No doubt he
would have scuttled off to the same Employment Tribunal citing discrimination
in the workplace. As so it goes on.
But besides the absurdity of this
self inflicted wound, there is the whole question of our compensation culture,
and the awards being handed down on the back of it. I remember the case of a female police
officer who was routinely “goosed” by her male colleagues, which begs the
question of what she was doing with her posterior to expose it to regular
“goosing.” But more to the point, she
was awarded a sum in excess of £100,000 for her blue bottom, if you’ll forgive
the pun. According to the Judicial
Studies Board’s guide to personal injuries, this is equivalent to the loss of
two limbs.
We need a complete rethink about
the compensation culture, and more to the point, the awards that these loony
tribunals can hand down. Time and again,
I have to advise clients running small businesses that a claim by a disgruntled
employee, no matter how spurious, could cost them thousands, and in some cases,
the difference between solvency and insolvency.
I remember, some years ago, deciding to get rid of our totally
incompetent senior clerk. However, as he
had passed the magical twelve months in full time employment, we finished up
paying him £25,000 not to darken our door again, and he was laughing all the
way to the bank. To add insult to
injury, we were a chambers of barristers who were supposed to know the law! Six months later, we went bust!
Time for sanity and good old
fashioned common sense to prevail. Whilst I do not condone genuine discrimination in the workplace, let’s keep
it in proportion. And if we can’t
abolish these tribunals, then their awards must be capped. I suggest, as a starter, £100 maximum for
turbans, and £50 per “goose.” That
should get to the bottom of it.
- Article Word Count: 657
- |
- Total Views: 14
- |
- permalink