Such a company’s “neutrality policy” does not constitute discrimination, the court ruled. A few years ago, the court the same statement on permanent employees of a company.
The matter came to the European Court after a Belgian Muslim woman was not allowed to do an internship at a real estate company because she had indicated in the job interview that she did not want to take off her veil.
Later, the woman asked the company if she could do an internship if she replaced her veil with another headdress. That request was also denied, as the company does not allow any headgear. This also applies to caps, hats or yarmulke, for example.
The Muslim woman then denounced the discrimination.
As the general rule applies to all employees, the European Court finds that there is no discrimination. However, the court pointed out that religious people are more disadvantaged as a result. The Court considers that the Brussels Labor Court should verify this.
