Two German firms were fine to ban Muslim women from wearing headscarves and companies may, under certain conditions, ban employers from wearing visible symbols of religious or political belief, the European Union top court has said, in a ruling which alarmed rights groups. “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 in a ruling on Thursday (15 July).
The Luxembourg-based tribunal also said 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. “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. “However, that justification must correspond to a genuine need on the part of the employer and, in reconciling the rights and interests at issue, the national courts may take into account the specific context of their member state and, in particular, more favourable national provisions on the protection of freedom of religion.”
The case was brought to court by two women in Germany who were suspended from their jobs after they started wearing hijab, a headscarf worn by many Muslim women who feel it is part of their religion. Both Muslim women – a special need carer at a childcare centre in Hamburg run by a charitable association, and a cashier at the Mueller pharmacy chain – had not been wearing headscarves when they started in their jobs, but decided to do so years later after coming back from parental leave. They were told by their respective employer that this was not allowed, and were at different points either suspended, told to come to work without it or put on a different job, court documents show. The issue of the hijab has sparked controversy across Europe for years and underlined sharp divisions over integrating Muslims.
In a 2017 ruling, the Luxembourg-based EU court had already said that companies may ban staff from wearing headscarves and other visible religious symbols under certain conditions, in turn sparking a huge backlash among religious groups. More than five million Muslims live in Germany, making them the largest religious minority group there. Headscarf bans for women at work have been a hotly contested issue in the country for years. Elsewhere in Europe, courts have also had to look into where and how headscarves can sometimes be banned at work: In France, home to Europe’s largest Muslim minority, a top court prohibited the wearing of Islamic headscarves in state schools in 2004, while Austria’s constitutional court has ruled that a law there banning girls aged up to 10 from wearing headscarves in schools was discriminatory.
