The European Court Of Justice ruled in favour of Employers on Tuesday, permitting them to ban staff from wearing visible religious symbols.
This is the ECJ’s first ruling on the subject matter.
The ECJ gave a joined judgment in the cases of two women, in France and Belgium, who were dismissed for refusing to remove hijabs. The hijab is a headscarf worn by many Muslim women who feel it is part of their religion.
“An internal rule of an undertaking which prohibits the visible wearing of any political, philosophical or religious sign does not constitute direct discrimination,” the EU’s Court of Justice (ECJ) said in a statement.
EU workplace #Hijab ban is legal, says European Court of Justicehttps://t.co/zN2bbnL2mW#Europe #Muslims
— DOAM (@doamuslims) March 14, 2017
ECJ: Employer can ban Muslims from hijab if against their rules. But sacking Muslims after customer complaints could be discrimination pic.twitter.com/BoPv4emdZ2
— Mehreen (@MehreenKhn) March 14, 2017
The ruling comes on the eve of a Dutch election in which Muslim immigration has been a key issue and a precursor for attitudes towards migration and refugee policies across Europe.
