General headscarf ban at work is OK, says Europe’s top court | World News,The Indian Express
The case concerned a Muslim woman who was told she could not wear a headscarf when she applied to do a six-week work traineeship at a Belgian company.
The case concerned a Muslim woman who was told she could not wear a headscarf when she applied to do a six-week work traineeship at a Belgian company.
The firm said it has a neutrality rule, meaning no head covering is allowed on its premises, whether a cap, beanie or scarf. The woman took her grievance to a Belgian court, which subsequently sought advice from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
The Luxembourg-based CJEU said there should not be any direct discrimination in such a ban.
“The internal rule of an undertaking prohibiting the visible wearing of religious, philosophical or spiritual signs does not constitute direct discrimination if it is applied to all workers in a general and undifferentiated way,” judges said.
The CJEU last year said that EU companies could ban employees from wearing a headscarf under certain conditions, if they needed to do so to project an image of neutrality to customers.
Rating: 5