Muslim couple claim they were victimised by Morrisons after they were refused holiday during Ramadan



Donna Tunkara and husband Yassin were refused time off during Ramadan

The couple worked at Morrisons distribution centre in Stockton-on-Tees

Mrs Tunkara says stress of working nights meant she ended up in hospital

Morrisons solicitor says they failed to meet deadline for holiday requests



A married couple claim they were victimised at work due to their religious beliefs after being refused holidays during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Donna Tunkara, 32, and husband Yassin, 31, say they suffered discrimination, harrassment, victimisation and constructive dismissal after bosses at the Portrack Lane warehouse in Stockton-on-Tees of supermarket giant Morrisons turned down holiday requests in 2012.

A tribunal held at Teesside Magistrates’ Court yesterday heard evidence from Mrs Tunkara, who says her holiday request for the last 10 days of fasting during Ramadan was turned down unfairly.



Donna Tunkara and husband Yassin claim they were victimised after being refused holidays during Ramadan

She added that the stress of working night shifts caused her to suffer a breakdown and be admitted to hospital.

However solicitor Philip Crowe, representing Morrisons, called Mrs Tunkara a 'liar' during cross examination and said that she had not got the holidays she asked for because she missed a deadline - meaning all holiday time was already taken.

He said: 'You have not got exactly what you wanted and acted like a spoiled brat, and you have taken the easy way out to play the discrimination and race card, haven’t you? It is unfair.'

Mrs Tunkara rejected accusations that she had fabricated her story, and said that she and her husband had enjoyed their job at the Stockton base.

She said: 'No it was not the easy way out.

'It was very difficult to deal with. We asked for the holidays because it was too difficult to work night shifts while fasting.”

Mr Crowe had asked Mrs Tunkara why the couple, from Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, had not put in their holiday requests by the end of February, the company deadline for summer requests.

He also challenged her over discrepancies in the dates she claimed to have had meetings with managers.

The married couple, worked here at Morrisons Distribution Centre on Portrack Lane, Stockton-on-Tees

Mrs Tunkara said she had been admitted to hospital after working a shift on August 11, 2012, and had not even recognised her husband in the immediate aftermath.

She also claimed that she had asked for time off for her and her husband between August 9 and August 22 at the beginning of March, as soon as she received a planner from her mosque telling her when Ramadan was to begin.

She told the tribunal her line manager Peter Woodward had taken the request while he was in a meeting with another person.



Directly after, he told Mr and Mrs Tunkara he had discussed Ramadan with the other person and had decided he would not grant the request, claims Mrs Tunkara.

Mr Crowe denied this incident ever took place, and asked why Mrs Tunkara had only mentioned it in her latest witness statement.

He also asked her why, after working during the first weeks of Ramadan in July and August, did she only suffer problems while working shifts during the period she had asked to have off.

Mrs Tunkara said she had come to a compromise to work shorter, seven-hour shifts, and split her 30-minute breaks in two but the cumulative stress of working while fasting had led to her breakdown.

She also said she and Mr Tunkara had been denied informal 15 minute breaks other staff enjoyed on night shifts, and that her request for holidays had been treated differently to requests from other members of staff.