Unfair discrimination in the South African workplace against women wearing headscarves for religious reasons.
| dc.contributor.author | Harris, Shakira | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-09-16T08:43:41Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-09-16T08:43:41Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation examines unfair discrimination in the South African workplace against women wearing headscarves for religious reasons. None of the rights contained in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (the Constitution) are absolute. An employee’s right to religious freedom (and the expression thereof in the workplace) is subject to certain limitations. This is particularly pertinent in the workplace. Employers have the right to require employees to conform to the inherent requirements of the job (IROJ), as provided for in section 6(2) of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (EEA). Employers are also entitled to conduct their business in accordance with their set operational requirements. Both parties to the employment relationship (employee and employee) are governed by the relevant legislative framework, which is to be interpreted against the overarching constitutional right to fair labour practices expressed in section 23 of the Constitution as well as section 186 of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (LRA). Consequently, an employer has the right to request the expression of religious beliefs on the part of an employee (for example a female employee who insist on wearing a headscarf for religious reasons) to conform to the IROJ and or operational requirements failing which the employer may take certain steps to reasonably accommodate the employee. In terms of section 15 of the Constitution, the right to freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief, and opinion are fundamental rights. These rights must be read together with the provisions of section 9 of the Constitution; which provides for equality and equal protection as well as the prevention of unfair discrimination on the part of the State or any person (including an employer). The right to religious freedom, and equality rights, should be considered together with section 10 that protects human dignity. The potential clash in the workplace of the right of religious expression on the part of an employee with the IROJ (or operational requirements) of the employer raises concerns as to the resolution of, namely the wearing of a headscarf. The proposed study will explore the unfair discrimination female employees experience in the South African workplace as a result of wearing headscarves for religious reasons and measures that can be taken by both the employee and employer to address this problem. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | N/A | |
| dc.identifier.issn | N/A | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10566/20930 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | University of the Western Cape | |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | N/A; N/A | |
| dc.subject | Unfair discrimination | |
| dc.subject | Equality | |
| dc.subject | Belief | |
| dc.subject | Human dignity | |
| dc.subject | Religion | |
| dc.title | Unfair discrimination in the South African workplace against women wearing headscarves for religious reasons. | |
| dc.type | Thesis |