Two-thirds of employers admit to being unsure about their responsibilities when it comes to granting time off for religious and cultural holidays, research by the CIPD and KPMG has revealed.

As the celebrations for the Chinese New Year get underway, the survey found that although the vast majority of companies have a diversity policy only one in three firms has a set code to deal with staff‘s religious commitments.

But three-quarters of employers with a policy support staff in taking time off for religious observance and in 15% of cases this includes giving time off in addition to employees‘ annual leave. Just under two-thirds (61%) provide staff with time or facilities for religious observance in the workplace.

Only around one in 10 employers with a policy imposes restrictions on religious dress or jewellery. And this overall proportion is raised by employers in manufacturing – a quarter of which impose such restrictions – usually for health and safety reasons.

The CIPD is advising companies of all sizes to devise and implement a diversity that clearly sets out the policy with regard to religion.

“How to treat the expression of religion or belief in the workplace is becoming a more pressing issue for employers as Britain becomes both a more multi-faith and secular society,” said Dianah Worman, diversity adviser at the CIPD.

“The survey findings are encouraging in demonstrating that tensions evident in recent high profile cases relating to restrictions on religious dress or the display of religious symbols at work are not widespread in workplaces across the UK.

“However, it is likely that other issues will come to the fore as more employees bring cases against employers within the terms of the 2003 regulations outlawing religious discrimination in the workplace,” she added.

“To avoid this, employers should ensure that they have a clear policy that both removes any possible forms of discrimination and enables staff to make a fully engaged contribution at work regardless of their religion or belief.”

The research added that almost a quarter of employers surveyed (23%) have introduced or changed their policy as a result of the 2003 regulations outlawing direct or indirect employment discrimination on grounds of religion or belief.

“The introduction of legislation on religion and belief sent a clear signal to employers that ignoring faith at work is no longer an option,” added Sarah Bond, head of diversity at KPMG. “We live in a multi-faith society, and employer practices should reflect this.”