• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Call us now: 01243 836 840   [email protected]
Pure Employment Law
  • Who We Are
    • Nicola Brown
    • Peter Stevens
    • Elena Elsam
    • David Jones
    • Linda Nye
    • Brenda Cherry
  • For Employers
    • Advice on HR and People issues
    • Investigations, Hearings and Appeals
    • Restructuring and Redundancy
    • Defending Employment Tribunal Claims
    • Dismissal of Senior Executives
    • Contracts, Handbooks and Policies
    • Employment Law Training
  • For Employees
    • Settlement Agreements
    • Workplace Issues including Disciplinary and Grievance
    • Bringing an Employment Tribunal Claim
  • Employment Law Events
  • Legal Updates
  • Testimonials
  • Vacancies
  • Contact us
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Can employers ban religious clothing – or not?

31st March 2017/in News /by Nicola Brown

If you believe everything written in the press (which I am sure most of you don’t!) you would think that the European Court had recently decided employers could lawfully ban headscarves in the workplace. Of course, it isn’t as quite straightforward as that. We look at the recent Achbita v G4S case and what it means for employers in the UK.

The case the European Court of Justice (ECJ) was being asked to decide arose when Ms Achbita, a Muslim receptionist at G4S in Belgium, was asked not to wear her Islamic headscarf at work. This was because G4S said they had a ‘policy of neutrality’ which banned all staff from wearing visible religious or political items in the workplace. Ms Achbita refused to comply, and was dismissed. She then brought a claim in the Belgian courts, and the Belgian courts referred the matter to the ECJ to decide on whether such a ban would amount to unlawful discrimination.

The questions to be answered by the ECJ in the case were:

1. Does a ban on religious clothing amount to direct discrimination? (Direct discrimination is where someone is treated less favourably because they have a protected characteristic, in this case their religion or belief. There is no defence to direct discrimination on the grounds of religion).

 2. If not, does it amount to indirect discrimination? (Indirect discrimination is where a rule is applied to everyone, but it disproportionately affects those who have a particular protected characteristic. There is a defence if the rule is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim).

 3. If it does amount to indirect discrimination, do the employers have a defence?

As far as question 1 is concerned, the ECJ said that a ban on any religious or political clothing did not amount to direct discrimination because it was imposed on all employees alike. However, their reasoning does seem flawed on this point, because of course such a ban is targeted at those who have particular religious or political beliefs that may require them to wear such items.

In any event, the key question in these cases was always going to be question 2 – indirect discrimination. The ECJ said that a ‘policy of neutrality’ was indirectly discriminatory, in that it disadvantaged those with particular religious or political beliefs. It therefore moved on to question 3.

The ECJ did not make a definitive decision on whether the defence was proven, as it said that was a matter for the relevant national court(s). However, the ECJ did say that the ban was capable of justification, and mentioned that G4S could have considered moving Ms Achbita to a role which was not customer facing, as an alternative to dismissing her. It will be for the Belgian courts to decide if G4S can show that dismissal was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

So what does the case mean for employers in this country? Well, it is important to remember that unlike Belgium, a ‘policy of neutrality’ is not something which we are familiar with in the UK (with the exception of the Fair Employment rules in Northern Ireland, which operate differently and are designed to ensure equality between Protestant and Roman Catholic employees). It seems unlikely that a UK court or Tribunal would find it justifiable for an employer to impose a ban on any religious or political clothing without there being a good reason, i.e. not just because of a desire for ‘neutrality’. For example, in a 2007 case the Employment Appeal Tribunal confirmed that it was justified for a school to insist a bilingual pupil support worker removed her veil, but this was purely during the time when she was teaching and assisting the pupils, when they needed to see her speak (Azmi v Kirklees) and she was permitted to wear the veil at all other times.

We also have to bear in mind the Human Rights angle, which wasn’t taken into account in the Achbita case. As you may recall, in the landmark Eweida case (which we wrote about here), when British Airways tried to ban a member of cabin crew from wearing a discreet cross, the European Court of Human Rights upheld Ms Eweida’s complaint, on the basis that there was no evidence that other employees wearing authorised religious clothing, such as turbans, had any negative impact on British Airways’ brand or image.

In conclusion, headlines saying that employers can ban religious clothing in the workplace are pretty misleading, at least as far as the UK is concerned. Employers need to strike a fair balance between employees’ religious beliefs and the genuine requirements of the workplace. If requests to wear religious or political items are refused, there should be reasons given and the rules must be proportionate. It obviously isn’t very exciting for the headline writers (!), but I think it will be rare for employers to be able to justify imposing a ban.

If you would like to talk through a situation you are dealing with, or if you need advice on any aspect of employment law, please contact any member of the Pure Employment Law team (01243 836840 or [email protected]).

Please note that this update is not intended to be exhaustive or be a substitute for legal advice. The application of the law in this area will often depend upon the specific facts and you are advised to seek specific advice on any given scenario.

 

 

 

Share this article
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://www.pureemploymentlaw.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Pure-Employment-Law-logo.jpg 0 0 Nicola Brown https://www.pureemploymentlaw.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Pure-Employment-Law-logo.jpg Nicola Brown2017-03-31 07:58:012017-03-31 15:51:05Can employers ban religious clothing – or not?

Join our mailing list

* = required field
Mailing Lists


Recent Legal Updates

  • FAQs about COT3s 18th December 2020
  • Can an employer withdraw a notice of redundancy? 18th December 2020
  • Will employers be able to insist that staff have the Covid-19 vaccination? 18th December 2020
  • Furlough over Christmas? 18th December 2020
  • Update – Furlough scheme extended 18th December 2020
Link to: Contact Us

Any questions? Why not get in touch!

Our advice is always given in plain English without any waffle, and we focus on providing practical solutions to our clients’ problems.

Contact us

LEGAL INFORMATION

Pure Employment Law | 1 Little London, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1PH
[email protected] | Tel: 01243 836840

Pure Employment Law is the trading name of Pure Employment Law Limited, registered in England and Wales with company number 07134294 and whose registered office is 1 Little London, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1PH. Pure Employment Law Limited is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with registration number 533794. A list of the company’s directors is available for inspection at the registered office

DISCLAIMER

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by Pure Employment Law and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions | How to make a complaint | Sitemap

© Pure Employment Law 2021

Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies as defined in our cookie policy.

Accept Cookie Policy

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Other cookies

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy Policy
Accept settingsHide notification only