Muslim Doctor Sues Over Work Interfering with Mosque Attendance

From the Telegraph:

Doctor Musarrat Syed-Shah, 31, is alleging religious discrimination and victimisation against four partners from the North Leeds Medical Practice after her partnership agreement was terminated on August 8 last year.

The employment tribunal in Leeds heard that Dr Syed-Shah claims the other doctors were "unhappy" about her attending the weekly prayers.

Michael McDonough, for Dr Syed-Shah, told the tribunal: "They were unhappy with her attending the mosque for Friday prayers and they applied a condition to her which was not applied to anyone else by saying they were not allowed to leave the surgery between sessions."

...Dr Syed-Shah described herself in her evidence as a "devout" Muslim who had been on a pilgrimage to Mecca before taking up the post at the practice and prayed five times a day.
She said she had attended mosques on Fridays throughout her adult life.

On being given the job, Dr Syed-Shah said she requested Fridays off but was told it was not convenient.

However, she believed her sessions could be arranged to allow time in between to visit the mosque for Friday prayers, and said the practice manager, Sharon James, and one of the other partners, Dr Manjit Purewal, agreed there would be no problem with this.

When Dr Purewal later asked her to take on an extra shift on Fridays, meaning she would have to work for more than nine hours without a break and miss prayers, she objected and was accused of not pulling her weight.

Dr Syed-Shah said: "I felt that this was an attack on me by Dr Purewal. He knew that I could not take up an extra surgery on that day."

At a meeting of the partners on August 4, one partner, Dr Marcus Julier, said he did not know prayers were a weekly occurrence and added: "Nobody should have a commitment that is more important than this surgery on any day that they are working at this practice."

Dr Syed-Shah said she was told the next day by partner Dr Elizabeth Martin that she would be "out of a job" if she continued going to Friday prayers.

She said: "I felt bullied and victimised. It seemed clear to me that they were upset about me attending the mosque on Fridays."