Ramadan: Supporting colleagues who are fasting

March 7, 2024

Fasting plays an important role in many major religions and is a central feature in all the Abrahamic faiths. In Islam, adult Muslims, who are able to, are required to fast during the month of Ramadan. The period of fasting has commenced and is expected to last through to Sunday 1 May.

Advice for line managers:

1. Do not make assumptions about who in your team may be observing Ramadan – Islam is a faith that welcomes people of all races and backgrounds.
2. Observing Ramadan may not be noticeable so make it easy for your team members to let you know if they are fasting.
3. If you manage a colleague who will be observing Ramadan, ensure you have some one-to-one time to discuss any workplace adjustments that can be considered.
4. Fasting can affect people in different ways (for example, some people may understandably become a little quieter or slightly tired at times, even though most staff have fed back that their productivity increased after the first few days).
5. Dignity and respect from managers and colleagues are helpful and expected. Be aware that fasting colleagues will not even be drinking any fluid (including water) and they may therefore feel less energetic and even less inclined to join in office conversations on occasions – don’t take it personally and ensure communication can be made in other ways where possible.
6. Workplace adjustments should not impact negatively on patient care. Managers and their colleagues can discuss and consider options such as occasional working from home where appropriate to the role and individual circumstances, core hour working where time can be made up in lieu, and provision for paid and unpaid leave where viable. When Ramadan falls in the summer months it can be particularly challenging, as the days are longer.
7. If members of the team observing Ramadan feel comfortable doing so, encourage them to give short presentations and encourage normal discussions about Ramadan and how the team can best support them.
8. Colleagues who are fasting will not expect others, who are not observing Ramadan to do the same, so please don’t feel anxious about making a cup of tea for the team or eating your lunch. However, please be sensitive by not continually offering them a food and drink.
9. You may find that some colleagues request up two weeks annual leave towards the end of Ramadan to help focus on and intensify their acts of worship. This should be treated as any other annual leave request, therefore managers should use their judgement to ensure that negative impact on the team and patient care is mitigated against but should try and accommodate as fully as possible.
10. Please ensure colleagues have reasonable time during the day to complete prayers and an appropriate space is allocated for this purpose.
11. If the prayer room will be closed for cleaning or for some other reason please ensure that staff are given enough notice, and reasonable alternative facilities have been provided during the closure. 

For more information about Ramadan, please visit the NHS Guidance here.