[jambutty]

Originally Posted by lindsay ormerod

Ok, a difficult and delicate subject, some of my Muslim colleagues are fasting for Ramadan, I know full well that I couldn't do it, it involves such long hours without food or drink that I know my concentration and performance would suffer. If I were a doctor or a surgeon I would have serious misgivings about my ability to function properly, how does everyone else feel about this emotive subject? Should our Muslim colleagues have the fasting period off or should we expect them to still function on what is basically a starvation diet with sleep deprivation thrown in?

If a person is getting paid to do a job of work and fasting interferes with their ability to do so to the satisfaction of the employer then that person should either break the fast, take unpaid time off work or use up their holiday entitlement.

Alternatively they could opt to take the night shift if there is one.

This should apply particularly to people who are responsible for the safety and well being of others, like an airline pilot and aircrew, bus/coach/train/taxi/HGV driver, officers on a ship, teachers, hospital staff, emergency services – the list is almost endless.

Maybe the answer is to make all people fasting during the day to use their holiday entitlement.