Recent Tribunal case reported re Mr Dhinsa, a Sikh employed as a Prison Officer. Employer rejected request for permission to wear kirpan, partly on safety grounds. Mr Dhinsa brought Tribunal proceedings for indirect discrimination on grounds of race and religion.

Claim rejected as ban found proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aim; namely, protecting the safety of staff, members of the public and prisoners.

There is a specific exemption under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 relating to the wearing of Kirpan's, as they are classed as a religious article.

Although it is possible to 'ban' these from the workplace on the grounds of safety and security; anyone trying to do so would need to be extremely careful in their justification, as it could otherwise be classed as indirect discrimination on religious grounds.

As has already been said, most Sikhs wear their Kirpan under clothing, so in general it would not be a problem. The most important thing in the first instance would be to consult with any Sikh workers, raising any concerns and holding a sensible, rational and where possible, pragmatic discussion on the topic.

Do you also see no reason to wear a crucifix?

I'm an atheist and so I'm the wrong person to ask....but I see no reason why anyone should be allowed to carry around a weapon in the name of religion. In fact I see no reason why anyone should be exempt from any British law in the name of religion.

being ignorant what is VCR?

Here we go again.

Risk assessment!

A Kirpan that is not dangerous could be less of a risk than a crucifix.

Treat each case seperately and if the risk is low then why not?

A simple pen, ruler or ring binder can be extremely hazardous in the wrong hands.

Quite right. Some h&s people do love their black and white rules.

I am not sure that this is a good example since a carpenter's saw is a tool required to do the job (same applies to a kitchen knife, etc) but a kirpan is not required.

Barnaby has the answer; a risk assessment in the context of the worker and the workplace.

I take your point, but what I was trying to highlight is there are much more dangerous items in the workplace which we wouldn't even have a second thought about - and certainly not along the lines of "What if somebody took it off them and used it in an act of violence...".

Yes. As long as 50% or more of its surface is brightly coloured in an approved colour. ;-)

(well, you did ask!)

Well that's technically a Two Tone RIF (Replica Imitation Firearm). You wouldn't be an airsofter would you Safety Smurf ? Am currently a registered slirmisher so don't have to worry about the two tone now :-)

And you can carry Blank firing if you have a specified exclusion (Military renactor, stage manager / armourer, etc)

No, not an airsofter. :-) Just use them for a bit back garden target competition with my son and my partner in between oportunities to get the air rifles out.

Thank you to everyone who has responded. You may have already guessed but this query was initially raised by an HR professional. Having thought 'here we go again' it prompted a company wide review of Equality, cultural and internal safety and security policies.

The upshot is, as has been stated above; there is an exemption under UK legislation that allows a baptised Sikh to wear a Kirpan in a public place. Contributors also correctly highlighted that they are not permitted on aircraft (except on internal flights in India) and there is a requirement to either place them in hold baggage or hand them to flight attendants for safe keeping. There is a very good guidance document from the Equality and Human Rights Commission 'Sikh articles of faith in the workplace and public places' that sets out good sensible approaches and provides the reader with background to the issue. Banning all knives for safety reasons is permissable but only where this can be justtified following a risk assessment that determines the ban is for the wider benefit - this avoids indirect discrimination. However, as said above by other contributors, is this really a sensible approach? Given that the true religious purpose is symbolic and only worn be baptised and presumably devout Sikhs the wearer is honour bound not to use/draw the Kirpan (except in limited ceremonial uses). My organisation is considering permitting the wearing of Kirpan on condition that it is worn securely under outer clothing and thus cannot easily be taken from the wearer by an assailant with criminal intentions. The case law referred to above is interesting, but relates to the specific risks associated with the prison service where it was held on appeal that prison officers cannot wear a Kirpan; interestingly prison Chaplains are permitted to wear one.

It does however seem odd that those who wear the Kirpan and protest that they must be permitted to wear it at work are content (perhaps begrudgingly) to remove it for air travel - one could discuss this for hours but let's not.

The only queries we now have are: a) related to liability for insurance purposes (we await our insurers opinion, and b) related to the need to verify that the wearer is indeed a baptised Sikh and therefore has a justifiable reason for wearing it - this one is with our security services (mostly ex police officers) for an opinion on how the police service evaluate this (see page 9? of the guidance).

An interesting thread of responses - thank you again !