The highest court in Europe ruled on Thursday that EU corporations are allowed to ban headscarves so long as it is a general restriction that does not discriminate against employees.
This is the most recent judgment on a contentious topic that has been dividing Europe for years. When a Muslim lady from Belgium requested to take part in a work internship for a period of six weeks at a Belgian firm, she was informed that she could not do so while wearing a headscarf.
The company has a policy that prohibits employees and visitors from wearing any kind of head covering while they are on the premises. This includes hats, beanies, and scarves. The woman carried her complaint all the way to a court in Belgium, which then turned around and asked the Court of Justice of the European Union for guidance (CJEU).
The Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU), which is situated in Luxembourg, stated that there should not be any direct discrimination in such a prohibition.
“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 manner,” the judges said. “This is because direct discrimination requires that the rule be applied in a way that differentiates between workers.”
Last year, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that businesses inside the EU had the right to prohibit their employees from donning a headscarf if they felt it was necessary to provide an image of neutrality to their clientele.
For a number of years, the topic of prohibiting women from wearing headscarves while they are on the job in Germany has been a difficult one. This debate has mostly centered on prospective teachers at public schools and trainee judges.
In 2004, France, which is home to Europe’s largest Muslim community, passed a law that made it illegal for students to wear Islamic headscarves in public schools.
