Headscarves can be banned at work under certain conditions: EU courts

"A prohibition on wearing any visible form of expression of political, philosophical or religious beliefs in the workplace may be justified by the employer's need to present a neutral image towards customers or to prevent social disputes," the court said. However, that justification must correspond to a genuine need on the part of the employer, it added.

Companies may ban Muslim employees from wearing a headscarf under certain conditions, the European Union's top court said on Thursday (July 15) in a ruling on two cases brought by women in Germany who were suspended from their jobs for wearing one. The issue of the hijab, the traditional headscarf worn around the head and shoulders, has caused controversy across Europe for years and underlined sharp differences over integrating Muslims. In the cases brought to court, both Muslim women - a special-needs carer at a childcare centre in Hamburg run by a charitable association, and a cashier at the Mueller drugstore chain - did not wear headscarves when they started in their jobs, but decided to do so years later after coming back from parental leave. They were told that this was not allowed, and were at different points either suspended, told to come to work without it or put on a different job, court documents show. The EU court had to decide in both cases whether headscarf bans at work represented a violation of the freedom of religion or were allowed as part of the freedom to conduct a business and the wish to project an image of neutrality to customers.