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| Britain |
| Rejected employment ’for not being Muslim’ |
| 2004-04-14 |
| A nurse claims he was told not to apply for a job at a private care home - because he was not a Muslim. Arpan Singh Duggal rang the Mohammad Iqbal Shassab Residential Home, in Chorlton, Manchester, to inquire about the post of a psychiatric nurse he saw advertised in a job centre. The advert asked for a qualified nurse, who could speak fluent Punjabi and Urdu, and listed the Manchester Road home as an equal opportunities employer. But Mr Singh, a Sikh who speaks both languages and works as a disability nurse for Trafford council, says he was left stunned when Mohammad Iqbal, the home’s owner, allegedly told him not to bother applying for the job because he was not a Muslim. Now he is taking the home, which cares for Asian patients with mental and physical health problems, to an employment tribunal later this summer. Mr Singh, 18, from Altrincham, said: "I just feel totally discriminated against and decided there was no alternative but to refer the matter to my solicitor and have it resolved at a tribunal. "There was no mention anywhere in the advert that you had to be Muslim to apply. "I have the necessary qualifications and can speak both Punjabi and Urdu, and when I rang the owner at the job centre and started to speak to him, everything was fine. "But when he discovered I was a Sikh the conversation just seemed to fall flat and then he told me I shouldn’t apply for the job because I was not Muslim. "I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He also said he was after someone who spoke a more specific kind of Punjabi, but that was not mentioned in the job advert." Mr Iqbal, 54, a Muslim, who has run the home for over a decade, says he was shocked to receive tribunal papers through the post and insists he never told Mr Singh not to apply for the job because he was a Sikh and not Muslim. He admitted he should have been more specific in the job advert about the kind of Punjabi speaker he required, and said he had always tried to foster positive links with Sikhs in the past. "It came as an absolute shock to discover that I’m now being taken to an employment tribunal for something I didn’t do," said Mr Iqbal, who employs 13 Muslim staff and cares for five Muslim patients. "The allegation that I told this man not to apply for the job because he was a Sikh and not Muslim is completely false and hurtful. "I have always had a good relationship with the Sikh community." No date has been fixed for the tribunal, but it is expected to be later this summer. |
| Posted by:TS |
| #2 Lawsuit in 5, 4, 3... |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-04-14 12:06:02 PM |
| #1 But Mr Singh, a Sikh who speaks both languages and works as a disability nurse for Trafford council, says he was left stunned when Mohammad Iqbal, the home’s owner, allegedly told him not to bother applying for the job because he was not a Muslim. He must not get out much. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-04-14 11:58:50 AM |