Faith in the workplace
By Dr. Natasha Hirst on 24 October 2025
These are especially challenging times for many minoritised groups, with public negativity increasingly directed at people who hold religious beliefs or are perceived to.
Often felt to be an overlooked aspect of EDI, now is the time for employers to ensure that their workplaces are safe and supportive spaces for workers who follow a faith. Avoiding faith conversations harms staff wellbeing and business success.
Anne Morris, Lawyer and Managing Director at DavidsonMorris explains that, “discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. Employers that have policies covering religion and belief will be better equipped to meet their legal obligations to protect employees from unfair treatment and defend against unlawful discrimination claims, should these arise.”
Discrimination and harassment do not need to be intentional to be considered unlawful. The DavidsonMorris website outlines what religious discrimination in the workplace is and how to take steps to prevent it.
Beyond policy
Employers’ responsibilities don’t stop with basic legal compliance, though. Morris adds that, “at a time when social and cultural debates can easily spill into the workplace and influence how people interact, employers have to stay grounded, compliant with the law and consistent in promoting fairness for everyone. Effective policies should help to set the framework for a respectful, inclusive workplace culture, so that employers can accommodate faith-related needs fairly and without disrupting business operations, and employees feel safe to express who they are and understand the expectations on them. When handled consistently, and underpinned by policy, faith at work can become a source of strength rather than contention. It’s where your culture can show true quality and authenticity, in the everyday respect your people give each other.”
Sufia Hussain, founder and CEO of Religion and Belief Plus (RB+), supports organisations to build psychologically safe workplaces by unlocking the hidden value of belief inclusion.
She explained, “there are all these variances we have that are influenced directly from our religion, such as wearing religious symbols or dress, yet, we don’t feel safe to talk about it. The world is getting increasingly divisive and religion is used as a weapon to divide us. Actually, I believe it’s a great connector, in terms of uniting us through a shared purpose. It’s important we are able to have informed conversations, lead with confidence and purpose. Not building a healthy discussion about it across all levels has a cost. You don’t have this hard conversation now, you’ll have it in the court.”
Hussain encourages employers to consider structural and behavioural aspects to thinking about faith in the workplace. The structures involve policies and processes that support inclusion across all different groups.
She advocates using a faith-centric lens to support behavioural change. “When you’re in the thick of it, how are you showing up? When things become challenging, what is the language people are using, what are they defaulting to? Are we disrupting those ingrained behaviours and norms and challenging them to the extent that people are unlearning some of their biases?”
The missing conversation
Too often, talking about religion is viewed as taboo or too personal. This results in people of faith fearing being misunderstood and non-religious colleagues concerned about “getting it wrong, being shamed or called out”.
Hussain stresses this is not about expertise, but is a space for curiosity, respect and informed conversation. “You don’t have to be a professor of theology to ask someone what their faith means to them.”
Many people who follow a faith are feeling especially vulnerable and hurt at the moment. Employees need reassuring that work is a safe place to be, and their colleagues care about how they are feeling.
Hussain described how depleting it feels to be hypervigilant about her safety and that of her family. “I feel like I need to constantly be looking around for my safety. I have had to do all that thinking, even before I got to work, my energy’s now spent already. You just need that human connection, a colleague saying ‘Hope you’re okay. Just checking in.”
The are many ways to support staff to feel confident with discussing faith at work. Hussain advocates for faith-literacy options that work for the size and culture of your organisation. This can be short e-learning modules, workshops or learning through storytelling and meaningful human connection.
Faith friendly workplaces
The Faith at Work movement highlights that over 80% of employees stress the importance of faith and belief in the workplace meaning that faith-friendly workplaces are more likely to retain talent. The Religious Freedom and Business Foundation (RFBF) released their second annual UK Faith Friendly Workplaces report in April this year. Their international benchmarking index helps companies track their progress and commitment to best practices in developing workplace cultures that embrace religion and belief. The 2025 report found a “surge of FTSE 100 companies paying attention to religion.”
94 of the top 100 companies featured religion on their people webpages, with 26 now having religion-oriented Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). Other forms of support include access to a professional chaplaincy programme, faith-based counselling through the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and procedures for requesting for religious dietary or prayer accommodations and time off for religious holidays.
The vast majority of organisations taking part in the REDI Index also recognised the value of understanding the faiths and beliefs of clients and stakeholders in order to better serve them. Reflecting the composition of our multicultural communities supports longer-term growth and future-proofing of your business.
As one of the UK’s top faith-friendly businesses, the John Lewis Partnership strives to be the UK’s most inclusive business. It recognises the value of diversity for bringing in talent, enhancing decision-making and better meeting customer needs. They also recognise the value of belonging and building trust with customers and communities by putting inclusion into practice.
Dominic Korobowicz, co-leader of the John Lewis Partnership’s Faith and Belief Network, said, “we know that we get the best from our Partners when they can be their true selves at work, and recognising and celebrating their faith can be a big part of this. Not only does it allow people to express an important part of their identity, it helps us celebrate different views and cultures – and ultimately better reflect the broad customer base we serve.”
Korobowicz adds, “our Faith and Belief Network brings together Partners from all backgrounds, to share their stories and experiences, in a safe and respectful environment. We also use it to encourage shared celebrations, from trips and visits to internal events.”
Faith-friendly workplaces support cohesion, improved well-being and a richer exchange of ideas, that benefits all. As Hussain notes, “we are multi-dimensional in terms of our identity. There’s a drop kerb effect. Supporting faith inclusion can genuinely lift all communities up.”
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