Employment Expert Comments On Implications Of The Case

Europe's top court has today ruled that a company rule prohibiting the wearing of visible signs of political, philosophical or religious belief, which covers all such manifestations of belief without distinction, is not directly discriminatory on the ground of religion or belief.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgment relates to the case of Samira Achbita, a  receptionist working in Belgium, who was dismissed in June 2006 after insisting on wearing the Islamic headscarf at work.

She challenged her dismissal in the Belgian courts and the case was referred to the ECJ in relation to the interpretation of an EU directive on equal treatment in employment and occupation.

In handing down what is the court’s first ever ruling on the wearing of headscarves at work, the judges concluded that the company’s internal rule prohibiting the visible wearing of any political, philosophical or religious sign does not constitute direct discrimination.

It said: "The rule thus treats all employees of the undertaking in the same way, notably by requiring them, generally and without any differentiation, to dress neutrally. It is not evident from the material in the file available to the court that that internal rule was applied differently to Ms Achbita as compared to other G4S employees.

Accordingly, such an internal rule does not introduce a difference of treatment that is directly based on religion or belief, for the purposes of the directive."

Referring the issue back to the Belgian court, the ECJ added that such a ban may constitute indirect discrimination if it is established that the obligation the ban imposes results in people who adhere to a particular religion or belief being put at a particular disadvantage. The ECJ went on to confirm that any such indirect discrimination may be capable of being objectively justified by a legitimate aim - such as, for example, the pursuit by an employer, in its relations with its customers, of a policy of philosophical, political and religious neutrality - provided that the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary.