The European Court thinks it’s acceptable for companies to prohibit their employees using religious headgear.
‘Internal rules that prohibit the visible use of political, philosophical or religious symbols does not constitute direct discrimination’, according to a ruling by the ECJ on Tuesday.
If the company does not have internal rules about this, it is the employer’s responsibility to pay attention to customers who want enterprise carried out by employees who do not wear Muslim headdress’, the ruling said.
The court ruling is the result of a case in which the Belgian security firm, G4S Secure, fired Samira Achbita because she insisted on using headgear.
The Court noted that G4S had ‘internal regulations referring to the carrying of political, philosophical or religious symbols. The regulations thus treated all its employees equally by the general obligation of neutral clothing’, the ruling said.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
