EU corporations can ban headscarfs so long as it’s a common prohibition that doesn’t discriminate in opposition to workers, Europe’s high court docket stated on Thursday, the most recent ruling on a difficulty that has divided Europe for years.
The case involved a Muslim girl who was informed she couldn’t put on a headband when she utilized to do a six-week work traineeship at a Belgian firm.
The agency stated it has a neutrality rule, which means no head masking is allowed on its premises, whether or not a cap, beanie or scarf. The girl took her grievance to a Belgian court docket, which subsequently sought recommendation from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
The Luxembourg-based CJEU stated there shouldn’t 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 stated.
The CJEU final yr stated that EU corporations may ban workers from sporting a headband below sure circumstances, in the event that they wanted to take action to undertaking a picture of neutrality to prospects.
In Germany, scarf bans for girls at work have been contentious for years, principally with regard to aspiring lecturers at state colleges and trainee judges.
France, house to Europe’s largest Muslim minority, prohibited the sporting of Islamic headscarfs in state colleges in 2004.
