Britain’s bosses have been told to bring Christmas traditions back to workplace and stop worrying about offending other faiths.
Festive parties, cards and the Lord’s Prayer should
all be a feature of
Christmas in the office or factory, Chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) David Isaac has said.
He said laws had been misinterpreted as employer
s became over-sensitive to other faiths and called for a “common sense” approach.
“Freedom of religion is a fundamental human right and shouldn’t be suppressed through fear,” he said.
“Lots of employers have now become really worried about doing any
thing discriminatory regarding their Muslim or Jewish staff.”
He said: “There are a lot of myths out there when it comes to dealing with religion at work. I want to put the record straight.
“It is OK to hold a party and send Christmas cards.
“Most Muslims and Jews that I know adhere to their own religious beliefs of course, but to some extent acknowledge that Christmas happens and to some extent, with a small ‘c’, celebrate it.
“This is people’s lived experience and we need to reflect it.”