There are a number of sections below as follows

1.    Right to wear Sikh Holy Turban at Work

2.    Legal Position with regard to British Sikh Community

3.    Punjabi-Sikh History

 

1 Right to Wear Sikh Holy Turban at Work

Health & Safety Executive Publishes Guidance Note for Sikhs on 23 March 98

  1. Sikhs wearing turbans are exempt from the requirement to wear hard hats on construction sites; this applies to any construction site within the territorial sea adjacent to Great Britain or to any construction site within Great Britain. A Sikh can be on a construction site while at work or otherwise.
  2. Reference is made to the wide definition of construction work, which covers the carrying out of any building, civil engineering or engineering construction work. The definition of construction work is contained within The Construction (Design and Management) regulations 1994 and The Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996. "Construction work" means the carrying out of any building, civil engineering or engineering construction work and includes any of the following -
  1. the construction, alteration, conversion, fitting out, commissioning, renovation, repair, upkeep, redecoration or other maintenance (including cleaning which involves the use of water or an abrasive at high pressure or the use of substances classified as corrosive or toxic for the purposes of regulation 5 of the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road and Rail (Classification, Packaging and Labelling) Regulations 1994(b)), de-commissioning, demolition or dismantling of a structure,
  2. the preparation for an intended structure, including site clearance, exploration, investigation (but not site survey) and excavation, and laying or installing the foundations of the structure,
  3. the assembly of prefabricated elements to form a structure or the disassembly of prefabricated elements which, immediately before such disassembly, formed a structure,
  4. the removal of a structure or part of a structure or of any product or waste resulting from demolition or dismantling of a structure or from disassembly of prefabricated elements which, immediately before such disassembly, formed a structure, and
  5. the installation, commissioning, maintenance, repair or removal of mechanical, electrical, gas, compressed air, hydraulic, telecommunications, computer or similar services which are normally fixed within or to a structure,

but does not include the exploration for or extraction of mineral resources or activities preparatory thereto carried out at a place where such exploration or extraction is carried out.

 

"excavation" includes any earthwork, trench, well, shaft, tunnel or underground working;

"plant and equipment" includes any machinery, apparatus, appliance or other similar device, or any part thereof, used for the purposes of construction work and any vehicle being used for such purpose;

 

 

"Structure" means –

  1. any building, steel or reinforced concrete structure (not being a building), railway line or siding, tramway line, dock, harbour, inland navigation, tunnel, shaft, bridge, viaduct, waterworks, reservoir, pipe or pipe-line (whatever, in either case, it contains or is intended to contain), cable, aqueduct, sewer, sewage works, gasholder, road, airfield, sea defence works, river works, drainage works, earthworks, lagoon, dam, wall, caisson, mast, tower, pylon, underground tank, earth retaining structure, or structure designed to preserve or alter any natural feature, and any other structure similar to the foregoing, or
  2. any formwork, falsework, scaffold or other structure designed or used to provide support or means of access during construction work, or
  3. any fixed plant in respect of work which is installation, commissioning, de-commissioning or dismantling and where any such work involves a risk of a person falling more than 2 metres.

"working platform" means any platform used as a place of work or as a means of access to or egress from that place and includes any scaffold, suspended scaffold, cradle, mobile platform, trestle, gangway, run, gantry, stairway and crawling ladder.

 

  • 3. Shows Sikh doing different kinds of jobs wearing their Holy Turbans only, and includes an industrial setting.

    4. Informs employers that Sikhs wear turbans in accordance with their religion. This was important to point out, since some people may have thought that a turban was only a matter of tradition or custom.

    •
    1. Past experience of Sikh workers having worked quite safely wearing their Holy Turbans only at the workplace or other similar workplaces should be used when carrying out risk assessments.
  • 6. It stresses that in many workplaces there may be only a negligible risk of head injury, and as such there is no need to wear hard hats.

    7. In some circumstance the turban offers adequate protection against injury to the head.

    8. Measures to remove the risk of head injury or control it effectively should always be considered first. The provision of hard hats should always be a last resort. This is of importance to all workers, so that risks are designed out for the benefit of all.

    9. The level of protection afforded by hard hats is often less effective than control at source, because hard hats might not be worn at all times, or it might get damaged or deteriorate. Other parts of the body can suffer serious injury as well, so that it is important for action to be taken to combat the problem at source.

    10. Employers who use hard hats will need to show that it was not reasonably practicable to remove or control the risks by other means. This will be of importance to all workers.

    •

    • The British Sikh Federation has been supported in its campaign by many MPs, MEPs, Councillors, Local Authority Councils, Liberty, Birmingham Asian Businesses Association, Sikh Gurdwaras and Organisations, etc. and wishes to thank them all.

     

     

    2. Legal Position with regard to British Sikh Community

     

    International Standards

    One of the Hall marks of civilised societies is the tolerance for people of different religious beliefs, and allowing them to practice their religion fully as long as it does not infringe the rights of others; this noble principle is enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

    The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides protection on employment and religious freedom, in the following terms :

    "Article 18 : Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."

    "Article 23 : (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.

    (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work."

     

    The European Convention on Human Rights states :

    "Article 13: Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in this Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity.

    Article 14: The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status."

     

    UK Domestic Law

     

    Exemption during both World Wars

    An exemption was granted to Sikh Officers and soldiers from any requirement to wear combat metal hats. Some 1.5 million Sikhs served during both world wars, with 83,000 giving up their lives, and 109,045 were wounded; many Sikhs received Victoria Crosses and other bravery medals.

     

    Motor Cycles Crash Helmets (Religious Exemption) Act 1976

    This gave an exemption for turban wearing Sikhs from any requirement to wear a crash helmet; this exemption was given by Parliament after a massive civil disobedience campaign and refusal to pay court fines. This successful tactic of British Sikhs is now taught on University degree courses.

     

    Mandla v Lee (1983), House of Lords court decision

    The highest court held that Sikhs were an ethnic group, as well as a religious group, and Sikh children could attend school whilst wearing their turbans.

     

    Criminal Justice Act 1988

    Section 139 makes it an offence to have an article with a blade or point in a public place; however, there are certain defences such as to prove that he had the article for religious reasons. This safeguards the position of Sikhs who wish to carry kirpans (David Maclean, Home Office Minister, letter dated 2 April 1996)

     

    Employment Act 1989, sections 11 and 12

    This provided an exemption for turban wearing Sikhs from any requirement to wear hard hats on construction sites, thereby accepting the previous practice on construction sites where some 40,000 Sikhs had so worked quite safely for many years.

     

    Horses (Protective Headgear for Young Riders) Regulations 1992, reg 3(1) and 3(2)

    This provides an exemption for Sikh children from any requirement to wear protective headgear on horses.

     

    Offensive Weapons Act 1996

    Section 4 provides an exemption for religious reasons from any charge of having a blade or point or offensive weapon on school premises for Sikh children; a similar exemption was provided on the grounds of national custome for Scottish school children who have a knife strapped to their legs when wearing a kilt.

     

    Human Rights Act 1998

    This will come into force in October 2000 and will incorporate the European Convention on Human Rights into UK domestic legislation; it will provide protection against religious discrimination (the Race Relations Act 1976 only protects against racial discrimination, not religious discrimination), amongst other civil and political rights. The process of incorporating the European Convention on Human Rights into UK domestic law started after the then UK Government was defeated on an Urgency Motion in the European Parliament in June 1996 calling on the release or provision of a fair trial in an independent court for Raghbir Singh, editor of Awaze Qaum (British Punjabi newspaper), who had been held in prison for about 2 years without trial in a court.

     

    Health and Safety Executive Guidance Note 1998 on turban wearing Sikh workers states that Sikhs have an exemption on construction sites, and refers to the wide definition of construction work; it also gives examples of negligible risk and that previous experience can be used to allow Sikhs to continue working in factories whilst wearing their turbans only. It states that the primary duty on employers is to remove the risk at sources, and that the wearing of protective equipment should be a last resort only.

     

    BSF Welcomes Lord Chancellors Kirpan statement

    There have been complaints for some time that Sikhs wearing Kirpans as witnesses, experts, policemen, magistrates, judges, solicitors, barristers, etc. have had difficulties entering court buildings. The BSF wrote to the Lord Chancellor on 27 September 1999 raising this matter, and he responded by letter dated 23 November 1999 that following legal advice and discussions with members of the judiciary, it was agreed that Sikhs could enter court buildings wearing their Kirpans providing they do not exceed 6 inches in total length. The Court Services Security Officer has given instructions to this effect, and all Crown and combined courts have been reminded of this policy. The metal detection scan machines at some courts will detect the Kirpan, and an explanation should be given if necessary.

    13 December 1999

     

    3.    Punjabi-Sikh History

    This will be in a number of parts,  being gradually extended and provided with more detail

    Punjabi-Sikh History 1704-1999