Employers can bar workers from wearing Islamic headscarves or any obvious religious or political symbols such as the burka, the European Court of Justice has ruled.
The court gave a joined judgment in the cases of two women in France and Belgium who were dismissed for refusing to remove their headscarves.
"An internal rule of an undertaking which prohibits the visible wearing of any political, philosophical or religious sign does not constitute direct discrimination," the court said in a statement.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However it ruled that the company must have a policy that bars religious signals and requires employees to "dress neutrally".
If there was no such policy in place, dismissal over wearing an Islamic headscarf would constitute discrimination, it said.
The Open Society Justice Initiative, a group which supported the two women in the cases, told Reuters it was disappointed by the ruling which it said "weakens the guarantee of equality that is at the heart of the EU's anti-discrimination directive."
"In many member states, national laws will still recognise that banning religious headscarves at work is discrimination. But in places where national law is weak, this ruling will exclude many Muslim women from the workplace," said the initiative's policy officer, Maryam Hmadoun.
In Belgium, Samira Achbita was fired when, after three years of employment, she began wearing a hijab to work at the security firm G4S, reports the BBC.
The company said she had broken an "unwritten rule" prohibiting religious symbols.
The ECJ ruled that a company's wish to project a neutral image was legitimate, reports The Guardian.
In France, Asma Bougnaoui was fired from an IT company after a client requested she remove her headscarf while on their premises.
The court ruled that the Frenchwoman had suffered discrimination and that customers' wishes did not give companies an excuse from complying with EU anti-discrimination law.
The ruling comes on the eve of a Dutch election in which "Muslim immigration has been a key issue and a bellwether for attitudes towards migration and refugee policies across Europe," says Al Jazeera.
In Germany, the government is considering a partial ban on full face veils. Switzerland's upper house of parliament this week voted down similar plans to ban all veils in public places.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Crossword: August 23, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
The France-Indonesia push for an Israeli-Palestinian two-state solutionTalking Points Both countries have said a two-state solution is the way to end the Middle East conflict
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
What does the Le Pen verdict mean for the future of French politics?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Convicted of embezzlement and slapped with a five year ban on running for public office, where does arch-conservative Marine Le Pen go from here — and will the movement she leads follow?
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
