Optician out of work after mask dispute
❝ A turban is not like a hat, you can’t lift it off and on. And I would have to go somewhere private to unwrap it, as it is a sacred part of the Sikh religion. Baldeepak Bhopal
A Sikh man has said he will not return to Bath after losing his job over a face mask row.
Baldeepak Bhopal worked as a locum optician for Vision Express until October this year – when his contract ended abruptly.
It followed a row over face-coverings at the Bath store when he alleges he was asked to wear a mask that didn’t work with his turban.
Baldeepak said: “I had never worked in Bath before and was booked for six days in the Vision Express shop.
“I wear a turban and a face-covering over the top which I can take off in-between patients because it doesn’t go behind the ears – it’s kind of like a snood.
“I worked in the shop for four days, all the staff were fine with me, and I’ve never had problems with my face covering anywhere else.”
However, on the fifth day, Mr
Bhopal claims he was asked to don a regulation blue surgical face mask.
“This was around 3pm so it was very last-minute. I said, ‘OK, but I cannot get it behind my ears because of my turban’ and I was asked, ‘Can’t you take it off?’
“A turban is not like a hat, you can’t lift it off and on. And I would have to go somewhere private to unwrap it, as it is a sacred part of the Sikh religion,” Baldeepak explained.
He said that, if he wanted to eat, drink or remove this mask in between patients, he would have to redo his turban each time.
Baldeepak then offered to go back to his hotel and make a device himself later that day, but that he was “given an ultimatum” to “either wear the mask or go home”.
He said: “I’m not from Bath and this was a block booking, so with no way to find an attachment in the time frame. This was all ignored and my following work date was cancelled. Not only did I feel embarrassed, insulted and hurt but I was also left without work the following day for abiding by my religious principles at the Bath store.”
Baldeepak added that – after the row – his whole contract with Vision Express was cancelled.
“At the moment I’m just trying to do things for Specsavers but it’s really affected my income,” he said.
A Vision Express spokesman said: “Rules and regulations set by the General Optical Council and the College of Optometrists state that any customer-facing healthcare professional in Optics must wear an approved FRSM IIR face mask as mandatory PPE and infection and control measures.
“This is a standard-issue face mask that is used across health care professionals and there are many individuals in the profession who comply with wearing the mask with religious headwear, and do so using a simple adapter that holds the mask in place without the need to remove religious headwear. With the safety of our colleagues and customers of the utmost highest priority, we cannot use the services of any individual who refuses to wear the approved and appropriate face mask.”