Can anyone help- we have been informed by a colleague who is a Hindu that she cannot wear lace up shoes for religious reasons- anyone else heard of this?

Not heard of this one directly.

Shoes are considered impure and Hindus do not like to touch them by hand. This is why slip one are preferred to lace ups. Shouldn't be a problem, there are plenty on the market.

Never heard of this one either. Heard of leather shoes being banned as the material comes from cows which are seen as sacred. Heard of Dalits or untouchables being told that they are not allowed to wear shoes in the presence of a caste Indian, and even that Hindus should not wear shoes while cooking or dining but have never come across this one. I suppose the choices are either accept it if you do not want to potentially offend and it does not cause you any bother - or the other side (which would be my choice as I am a cynic when it comes to religion and out of the blue religious reasons for not doing things or wanting things a certain way) is ask her to prove it. Tell her to show you where it says that she cannot wear lace-up shoes. A fiver says she can't, and there is some other issue which she is not keen to discuss. You could also make a detour to the nearest mosque and take a peek at the shoes left outside while the peeps enter to pray. Either way, if you find out, would you let us know?

It is difficult to get across that you are being a bit tongue in cheek in blogs. My point was (clumsily made, true) that there is a difference between what is a commandment or is in scripture which states that you must or must no do something, and a particular way of doing things that has become customary. I would include the recent cases involving christians insisting that they must be allowed to wear a cross, when there is nothing in the bible that states that you must. I know that Hindus as JohnJ said that shoes are considered impure but that does not mean this does not come into a 'you must not wear shoes with laces' declaration. I have dealt with this from another side - in a previous role I had to advise nursing and medical staff who went into the homes of others who required their assistance, and as lone workers were concerned that they were being told to take their shoes off when going into some houses, especially those who had pets(poo on floor, in some cases), those who were aggressive or family members who were. I had major arguments with those (mainly white colleagues) who thought that I was being ignorant, borderline racist, all that nasty stuff. My advice which was backed by the diversity folks in the organisation, was that it is absolutely not necessary to remove the shoes. It is a cleanliness issue, and wearing overshoes(those plastic thingies that fit over then can be binned) ensure that the shoes do not touch any part of the floor, which negates the problem. All was explained to the clients who were being visited and all accepted the situation, apart from one or two. Such is life.

David, Just out of interest why lace ups only? Does that mean no rigger boots, wellies etc. John Apologies for not putting the full translation up, I should double check my posts it means 'Wear safety shoes and keep a good footing on life'.

Whereas there are sensitivities involving the "cleanliness" and for a very small minority "leather" (from cattle origin) aspects, I have personally not come across lace-up and non lace-up. The only difference is that there is a small minority that believe that hand must be washed immediately after touching the shoes. Therefore, non-lace up is a better solution if and only if the wearing & removing of the shoes is frequent. There could be some extremely orthodox Hindus who still believe that one must cleanse themselves after every episode of coming in contact with "unclean" objects etc. It is extremely rare as that person probably cannot have a normal working life wherever in the world, including in India. (I am from a Hindu background, but do not profess to be an expert on it).

Thanks achrn, that clarifies my part as it was a contractor who worked with network rail who had this policy.