Supporting staff who are observing Ramadan 2021

Published: 12 April 2021

The start of Ramadan this year will be around 12 April 2021 (depending on the moon).

This is a time when Muslims across the world fast during daylight hours. Ramadan ends with the festival of Eid al-Fitr, which will happen around 12 May. 
 
Ramadan is a month of heightened devotion when Muslims undergo a period of intense reflection and devotion, seeking guidance and forgiveness.
 
As well as fasting, other duties include five daily prayers and the night prayer known as tarawih, a recitation of a portion of the Quran (about one-thirtieth), so that by the end of the month the entire Quran has been recited.

Staff are asked to be mindful of this important time for Muslim staff and service users; the COVID-19 restrictions have brought their own considerations as well. 

Neil Lewis, Acting Director of People and Organisational Development said:

We would like to take this opportunity to wish Ramadan Mubarak to all our Muslim colleagues and their families as we head into this special month

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has produced some useful tips for observing #SafeRamadan here, and for those on the front line there is a health-related factsheet that has been co-produced by the MCB and the British Islamic Medical Association here.

The MCB and BIMA have provided some advice for staff who are observing the fast, and for their managers and colleagues on how best to support them, which can be seen here. 

For line managers and colleagues:

•    Make it easy for your staff to let you know they will be fasting, and do not make assumptions about who will be observing the fast based on race or background. 
•    Fasting will affect people differently throughout the month, but it is quite common for people to feel slightly more tired (particularly during the afternoon), and we expect our managers to be understanding about this. 
•    Staff who are fasting may wish to be a little more flexible with their time in order to arrange prayers, and every effort should be made to accommodate this as fully as possible. 

For staff who are observing the fast:

•    Let your line manager know that you will be observing Ramadan, and discuss arrangements for prayer time during the working day (if this will be different from any provision already in place).
•    If you can, you might prefer to arrange your work tasks so that you can attend to those needing most focus/concentration earlier on in the day. 
•    Try to make sure that you take your allotted breaks even though you won’t be eating or drinking at those times – perhaps try to get out for some fresh air. 

Vaccination and Testing during Ramadan

BIMA along with Islamic scholars advise that having a COVID-19 vaccine does not invalidate the fast and individuals should not delay vaccinations during Ramadan. 

Similarly, BIMA along with Islamic scholars also advise that taking a lateral flow or PCR test will not invalidate the fast.

After having your vaccine please continue to follow government guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and help save lives.

You can find more information on COVID-19 vaccination and Ramadan here.