Religious Observances

The University of Victoria recognizes its legal obligation to take reasonable measures to accommodate employees and students who request time off for religious observance for which a day of observance is not provided by statute.

For accommodation on days of religious observance, please refer to

• Policy #HR6115 The Policy Statement on Employment Accommodation
• Policy #AC1210 Accommodation for Students on Days of Religious Observance

To assist reasonable accommodation, students or employees should provide reasonable advance notice of their intended absence for religious or spiritual observance.

In recognition of the fact that the University of Victoria is a diverse community, we have provided a partial list of holy days on which members of religious groups may request accommodation. Additional dates will be added as they become available. Dates, times and locations of local celebrations often can be obtained through Multifaith Services (250) 721-8338.

FOR MUSLIMS, prayer time on Fridays (12:30 - 1:30 PST; 1:30 - 2:30 Daylight Savings Time) is an important religious observance. Appropriate accommodation may be to allow a flexible lunch hour, or flexible schedule where the employee can adjust their schedule to make up the time.

Bookmark listing Days of Religious Observances

Days of Religious Observance which an adherent would be expected to refrain from work, classes/exams are listed below, according to advice from UVic Chaplains Services:

• September 2011 to August 2012
  Religious Observances Bookmark -PDF
  
• September 2012 to August 2013
  Religious Observances Bookmark -PDF

Calendar - UVIc Bookstore

The UVic Bookstore produces a useful planning calendar which includes the above dates.

Calendar - Download

To download Days of Religious Observance to your Outlook calendar click here, and for Entourage click here.

AMSSA

The Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC (AMSSA) produces an interesting and educational Multifaith Calendar which includes many other religious and cultural occasions in addition to high holy days.