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The Star reports that a member of the Nazareth Baptist Church, who wears a beard for religious reasons, has been threatened with a disciplinary hearing if he refuses to remove it.
Sipho Gcabashe, an alarm response officer for Fidelity ADT in Glenwood, Durban has been told by his employer to shave his beard or face the consequences. After spurning the company’s order, Gcabashe says he was served with a letter demanding he shave his beard before the end of this month. But, his employment contract doesn’t say anything about his hair or beard and his religion means everything to him. He accused the company of discriminating against his religion. “About 40% of employees at Fidelity are Nazareth, but they chose only me to shave the beard,” he said. After Gcabashe refused to shave, he was served with a notice to attend a disciplinary hearing. Fidelity ADT’s district manager for KwaZulu-Natal, Vaughan Pillay, said they were aware of the case where an employee was asked to comply with the company policy in terms of his appearance when reporting for duty. He said they respected the employee’s religious beliefs and were happy for him to keep his hair and beard, but expected it to be kept tidy in accordance with the company’s dress code policy. “Our HR department and senior management team are currently working with the respective parties towards an appropriate resolution,” he said.
- Read the full original of the above report by Ncamisile Mkhize at Security.co.za
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