Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaah. Could you please advise on employment for women in the UK? What would be the lesser wrong, to work in any mixed environment, or to work within children's settings where they may be less mixing (as there are more females present) but where there will be participation in un-Islamic festivities such as Easter, Christmas, and so on? This is promoted in places like nurseries and schools as part of their education and celebration, and the staff usually have to be with the children and be part of it as a result. So which is worse? In any other job without children, it might not be so bad, but then there is likely to be more intergender mixing and so on. Also, praying on time will be always be hard to do given certain break times, and with certain jobs this is likely to be more strict. Therefore, joining them may be the only option, but I am woried about spending most of my life joining prayers and rushing them due to circumstances, as it may become a sin and also hinder me from developing my already deficient acts of worship. My main question was the first one, as I really require some guidance on that. And if needed, I will submit the part about the prayer again, if that what is what is requested. Please advise. May Allaah reward you.

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

There is no doubt that if you have the choice (not to work), then you should not work in either field because of the Sharia violations that they involve. If the woman has someone to provide for her or has sufficient wealth to provide for herself, or if she can find a job where she would not be exposed to Sharia violations, such as mixing with men and the like, then it is impermissible for her to work in a job wherein she disobeys her Lord and exposes herself to Fitnah (temptation). Please refer to fatwas 83607 and 82399 about the criteria that govern the woman's work.

However, if you are compelled to work, then it seems - and Allah knows best - that it is less grave to work in a mixed environment than to work in the children's settings described in the question; i.e. participating in the celebration of the religious festivals of the disbelievers, the neglect in observing the prayers, and the failure to perform them on time. We stress that this ruling applies to your situation based on the apparent circumstances. It is better to consult a local scholar in your community concerning such matters because he would be more aware of the reality of life there.

Allah knows best.