Employers will be able to ban Muslim staff from wearing headscarves at work, the European Court of Justice has ruled.
The court said that companies were able to ban “the visible wearing of any political, philosophical or religious sign”.
The ruling made clear that if the ban was only applied to Muslim members of staff it could still constitute discrimination.
Companies would need to already have a policy in place prohibiting the wearing of religious symbols and would not be able to ban staff from wearing headscarves on the “wishes of a customer”.
The judgment was sparked by the cases of two women – one living in France and one in Belgium – who were dismissed from work after refusing to remove their headscarves.