Businesses can sack Muslim women wearing the hijab headscarf if they work face-to-face with customers or if the wearing of the religious clothing causes workplace conflicts, the EU’s highest court has ruled.
Women in Germany who were suspended from their jobs for wearing a hijab to work.
One woman was a carer for special needs children at a childcare provider in Hamburg, while the other woman worked at a cashier at the Mueller drugstore chain. Neither of the women wore headscarves when they began their jobs but decided to start doing so years later.
Court documents show the women were told that this was not allowed and they were at different points either suspended, told to come to work without it.
The EU court in Luxembourg had to decide in both cases whether headscarf bans at work represented a violation of the freedom of religion or were allowed as part of the freedom to conduct a business and the wish to project an image of so-called neutrality to customers.
Its response was that such bans were possible if justified by an employer's need to present a “neutral image”.
The court said: “A prohibition on wearing any visible form of expression of political, philosophical or religious beliefs in the workplace may be justified by the employer's need to present a neutral image towards customers or to prevent social disputes.”
But the justification must be linked to a genuine need on the part of the employer, the court said.
www.independent.co.uk
Women in Germany who were suspended from their jobs for wearing a hijab to work.
One woman was a carer for special needs children at a childcare provider in Hamburg, while the other woman worked at a cashier at the Mueller drugstore chain. Neither of the women wore headscarves when they began their jobs but decided to start doing so years later.
Court documents show the women were told that this was not allowed and they were at different points either suspended, told to come to work without it.
The EU court in Luxembourg had to decide in both cases whether headscarf bans at work represented a violation of the freedom of religion or were allowed as part of the freedom to conduct a business and the wish to project an image of so-called neutrality to customers.
Its response was that such bans were possible if justified by an employer's need to present a “neutral image”.
The court said: “A prohibition on wearing any visible form of expression of political, philosophical or religious beliefs in the workplace may be justified by the employer's need to present a neutral image towards customers or to prevent social disputes.”
But the justification must be linked to a genuine need on the part of the employer, the court said.
Muslims could be banned from wearing hijabs at work, EU court says
‘Europe’s obsession with Muslim women’s clothing choices and specifically the hijab is entwined with Islamophobia, racism and misogyny,’ says campaigner
www.independent.co.uk
