Employee refuses to attend a client meeting due to religious reasons
I am not the OOP. The OOP is u/No_simpleanswer posting in r/managers
Concluded as per OOP
1 update - Short
Original - 30th January 2025
Update - 31st January 2025
Employee refuses to attend a client meeting due to religious reasons
We have an important client meeting, and I have a muslim employee, good employee over all, that refuses to go to the client meeting because they serve alcohol and he refuses to be present.
I want to be understanding but :
1- I worry that he is just using his religions to get away from a professional obligation. (Since the meeting is not within work hours)
2 - I fear that this is going to set a precedent of employee refusing to do tasks based on personal beliefs.
3 - I fear that this will open up the door of other team members that will start to refuse to do things because they dont want to.
I sent him a message that goes, that I respect your personal beliefs but that should not be a reasons to skip out on job duties.
What would you have done in this case,
be understanding of your employees choice and let it go.
Accept and show that you are not satisfied
Refuse the excuse of Religion
Ps : I try to be very understanding in general, when it comes to accomodating my members, but I feel like in wanting to be accomodating, some employee are taking the opportunity to test my boundaries.
Edit: to add details :
Its a dinner meeting, Clients usually expect champaign, not serving alcohol is not an option.
Overtime is paid , so it's not a question of pay.
Comments
Klutzy_Guard5196
Consult with an HR and EEO specialist. The last thing that you want is to this guy to quit, and file an EEO claim and lawsuit if this is a covered activity.
my2centsalways
You need a reality check. It's outside of work hours, they serve things that conflict with his religion, and you claim he is refusing work?! It's his free time!! Either you go yourself, choose to pay someone else to do that or even better plan meetings in non alcoholic spots.
berrieh
Not only is alcohol present, OP says they serve it to clients (well champagne I think but they can’t spell it so probably just sparkling wine). So the employee feels uncomfortable with the drinking at the meeting, which is entirely reasonable. Especially since it is outside work hours and frankly not a super particular job where dining with clients is a huge part of it. It sounds like they’re hourly (overtime) and this isn’t like a “everyone in our field knows you have to go out to x” sounding thing.
It’s ironic OP feels their boundaries being tested when they seem to be the one trampling over boundaries.
Update - 1 day later
As many people suggested in the original post, I respected the team members' religious beliefs and started looking for someone else to attend the meeting.
To encourage participation, I even offered a great deal for anyone willing to go to the business dinner and meet the client.
So, guess who—out of all the volunteers—suddenly decided could attend?
Yep, the same guy who originally said he couldn't go because of his beliefs.
When I called him out on it, he claimed he hadn’t realized how important the meeting was and is now willing to go.
Now, what should I do about this?
Edit: I’d also appreciate any advice on how to handle the fact that this person lied and used religion as an excuse to avoid their responsibilities—something that could have put me in serious trouble. This is a clear breach of trust, and it’s especially concerning given that they’re on track for a promotion.
Comments
troy2000me
Line up someone else quickly and say "Ah, well, I appreciate it, but I already have another resource lined up. Thank you for volunteering, I am glad to know you are able to work with this client in the future."
OOP: Definitely using that haha !
CatchMeIfYouCan09
Sit him down. "I'm understand you have personal convictions. I'm going to have to go with another staff member at this time as, personally I don't want to risk compromising your beliefs. Next time something comes up we can discuss it. "
ErichPryde
Exactly. "I provided this opportunity to other employees because I needed someone to be able to attend the meeting quickly and I felt that respecting your religious beliefs was important. I appreciate your willingness to reconsider, and I will keep that in mind for the future." It is totally okay for you to tell an employee in a professional manner that an opportunity is because of them, not for them. Then, as others have covered, document it.
I am not the OOP. Please do not harass the OOP.
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