EMPLOYERS CAN BAN RELIGIOUS CLOTHING: EU COURT RULED

European union top court has ruled that employers may forbid the wearing of visible symbols of religious or political belief, such as headscarves. 

But the Luxembourg-based tribunal said in its ruling that courts in the bloc's 27 member states should weigh up whether the ban corresponded to a 'genuine need' on the part of the employer.

They must also consider the rights and interests of the employee, including by taking into account national legislation on freedom of religion, it said

In the cases brought to court, a special-needs carer at a childcare centre in Hamburg run by a charitable association and a cashier at the Mueller drugstore chain did not wear headscarves when they started their jobs, but decided to do so years later after returning from parental leave.  They were told this was not allowed, and at different points were suspended, told to come to work without it or put on a different job, court documents showed. The court had to decide 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 neutrality to customers.

''Its response was that such bans were possible if justified by an employer's need to present a neutral image''.

"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," the court said.