Don't spend your money at Marks & 'Spensive

[Dedworth]

M&S tells Muslim staff they CAN refuse to serve customers buying alcohol or pork

• Marks & Spencer's policy applies to Muslim staff in more than 700 stores
• Shoppers are being asked to wait to pay for certain items at different till
• Highlights divide among mainstream food retailers over religious workers

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz2oE4tifOj

It's no wonder they are going down the pan

[les_taxi]

Unbelivable, i wish everyone would not use them and lo and behold they would bin this nonsense.

Hmm refusing to serve alcohol to me could be classed as discrimination perhaps?

What would happen if I open a 'religious shop' and not sell the Quran it was against my beliefs

[stevewool]

o what a silly world we live in,

[Terpe]

o what a silly world we live in,

It seems madness to me........if someone can't (or won't) perform their job they shouldn't be doing it. Period

Plenty of folks waiting for a job....

What's next .......refusing to serve customers who have selected non-halal products

Perhaps they don't need to serve anyone at all during Ramadam

[andy222]

Good points Terpe. .

[Ako Si Jamie]

Imagine waiting in a queue for a few minutes then finding out the till operator won't serve you because of their religious beliefs.

I'd walk out and wouldn't return.

[les_taxi]

Imagine waiting in a queue for a few minutes then finding out the till operator won't serve you because of their religious beliefs.

I'd walk out and wouldn't return.

I would stand outside with a placard telling people what crap awaits them in the store!

[Terpe]

I wouldn't be surprised if this doesn't go away

[Dedworth]

I'd accidentally drop my bottles over overpriced Champagne when told to find another till

[joebloggs]

remember the news stories where hotels refused gay couples, and were sued, isn't this the same where someone is providing a service but discriminating against certain people

M & S was founded by Jews, I came across this on the web the other day

[grahamw48]

The country is truly lost.

RIP .

I WILL retire to the Phils.

[KeithD]

When you take a job that has been offered to you, then you accept the terms and conditions that comes with it. If you don't like them, bugger off

[grahamw48]

No, employers can no longer DISCRIMINATE against religious minorities and all the that they import with them.

We just have to sit here like helpless fools and take it.

[bigmarco]

M & S was founded by Jews,

And the Daily Mail has been/is run by Fascists.
If the story is true it's ridiculous and I hope it costs them millions.
However my daughter works in their food section and her boyfriend is a section manager. Neither have heard of this or come across this problem among their muslim colleagues.

[andy222]

If the story isnt true it could cost the Daily Snail millions in compensation.

[Dedworth]

M&S apology over Muslim alcohol refusal

Marks & Spencer has apologised after a Muslim member of staff refused to serve a customer trying to buy alcohol.

The retailer said it usually tried to assign "suitable roles" to staff who could not handle certain items because of their religious beliefs.

It said this policy had not been followed in a case highlighted by the Telegraph over the weekend.

Consuming alcohol is forbidden in Islam, and some Muslims refuse to handle it at all.

An unnamed customer told the newspaper they had tried to buy a bottle of champagne in an M&S store, but the member of staff "was very apologetic but said she could not serve me" and asked the customer to use another till.

A spokesperson for M&S said: "Where we have an employee whose religious beliefs restrict food or drink they can handle, we work closely with our member of staff to place them in suitable role, such as in our clothing department or bakery in foods.


"As a secular business we have an inclusive policy that welcomes all religious beliefs, whether across our customer or employee base... We apologise that this policy was not followed in the case reported."

Other retailers said they had similar policies, applied on a case-by-case basis, that allow Muslims to avoid handling alcohol or pork, and allow similar exceptions for other religions.

But speaking to Radio 5 live's On The Money programme on Sunday, Andy Street, managing director of John Lewis, said the company did not have a similar policy, and questioned whether members of staff should have the right to refuse to serve customers.

"This is taking it one stage beyond common sense," he told the programme.

"We certainly have never had any issue with our teams... we've not even had to have a policy on this. I would hope [members of staff] would understand that in their job this was probably going to be required."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25488259

"Where we have an employee whose religious beliefs restrict food or drink they can handle, we work closely with our member of staff to place them in suitable role, such as in our clothing department or bakery in foods.


"As a secular business we have an inclusive policy that welcomes all religious beliefs, whether across our customer or employee base... We apologise that this policy was not followed in the case reported."

Why employ such people in the first place ?

[grahamw48]

The usual namby pamby PC apologist corporate PR crap.

We live in a country of FEAR.

[Dedworth]

The usual namby pamby PC apologist corporate PR crap.

Stomach churning words such as inclusive

[grahamw48]

Yeah...busy 'DRIVING UP STANDARDS'...'MOVING FORWARD' etc etc etc.

When are these clones going to re-write the manual ?

• 
  

It's getting very very tired , and infuriating for those of us who have a vocabulary.

[Ako Si Jamie]

So it's down to one individual stirring the pot?

If he/she doesn't like serving pork/alcohol they should find another job. Life doesn't revolve around Muslims.

[tiger31]

why is it some muslims pull the I can,t serve alcohol card and the ones running off licences or corner shops selling bacon etc its bullshit when it comes to making money their moral high ground goes out the window..I am sick to death of this crap all the time this is a mainly christian country and a large percentage of non believers why come to a country like this. This country is heading south at a great rate of knots.

[gWaPito]

remember the news stories where hotels refused gay couples, and were sued, isn't this the same where someone is providing a service but discriminating against certain people

M & S was founded by Jews, I came across this on the web the other day

One of Tesco's founders was also Jewish

[les_taxi]

why is it some muslims pull the I can,t serve alcohol card and the ones running off licences or corner shops selling bacon etc its bullshit when it comes to making money their moral high ground goes out the window..I am sick to death of this crap all the time this is a mainly christian country and a large percentage of non believers why come to a country like this.This country is heading south at a great rate of knots .

I have said it before based on what i have seen and heard and as controversial as it sounds,many,many Muslims who profess to be deeply religious,seem to forget their faith when it comes down to money.Yet i do know a Muslim lady who is lovely and is the opposite-she isn't an Islamic crackpot but has great values and her kids have been brought up with so much respect.

[tiger31]

I have said it before based on what i have seen and heard and as controversial as it sounds, many, many Muslims who profess to be deeply religious, seem to forget their faith when it comes down to money. Yet i do know a Muslim lady who is lovely and is the opposite-she isn't an Islamic crackpot but has great values and her kids have been brought up with so much respect.

we know they aint all bad but the good ones allow the bad ones to trample all over them. But i,ll stand by my views our 2 cultures will never work or integrate .

[grahamw48]

Totally agree tiger.

The evidence is everywhere in the world, but still the fools running this country are blind to the consequences of their ignorance of basic human nature....which isn't pretty.

[les_taxi]

we know they aint all bad but the good ones allow the bad ones to trample all over them. But i,ll stand by my views our 2 cultures will never work or integrate.

tiger I'm 100% with you on that one

[RickyR]

Strangely, here in an Islamic country I am regularly served pork or alcohol in shops by Muslims.... Christmas decorations and Christmas songs fill every shop, office and shopping mall. This morning I've been greeted Merry Christmas by every single one of my crew (all Muslims). None of them seem offended, maybe its just Muslims in the UK that are offended because they have to live in the cold weather.

[joebloggs]

maybe its just Muslims in the UK that are offended because they have to live in the cold weather.

nothing wrong with this weather, i would rather have this than 40c sun if they don't like it they can go and live in any other EU country

[Michael Parnham]

nothing wrong with this weather, i would rather have this than 40c sun if they don't like it they can go and live in any other EU country

Nice one Joe!

[Dedworth]

if they don't like it they can go and live in any other EU country

I wish they would