A case was brought by two Muslim women in Germany who were barred from their workplaces for wearing a headscarf. One of the women works as a special needs childcare worker and the other is a sales assistant for a chemist. After returning from parental leave, they were both obliged to remove their scarves.
The German courts took the cases to the EU’s top court, seeking advice on the EU’s employment directive. The judgment from the Court of Justice of the European Union declared that companies could restrict employees from wearing religious symbols as part of a broad ban on “any visible form of expression of political, philosophical or religious beliefs in the workplace.”
The justification, the court added, is “an employer’s need to present a neutral image towards customers or to prevent social disputes.” However, the Luxembourg tribunal underlined that the courts in EU countries should carefully consider whether banning headscarves constitutes a “genuine need” for the employer. The ruling said the courts should also examine an employee’s rights and interests and look favourably on national laws on freedom of religion.
The ECJ makes clear that the ban does not constitute discrimination if it is systematically applied to all beliefs, even if some religious precepts require believers to wear a certain type of dress.
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