Home » Legal developments » European legislation » EU: companies can prohibit the wearing of headscarf on the basis of internal regulations (CJEU judgement) EU: companies can prohibit the wearing of headscarf on the basis of internal regulations (CJEU judgement) Through . Published on 14 October 2022 à 16h01 - Update on 14 October 2022 à 16h01 Resources In a judgement handed down on 13 October, the Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed a claimant who brought a case in Belgium concerning a dispute over the conclusion of an internship agreement. The claimant, who wore an Islamic headscarf, said she had been discriminated against on the grounds of religious belief. Although the recruiters had expressed a positive opinion on her application, no action was taken. She had indicated that she would refuse to remove her headscarf, although the company had made this a prerequisite for her hiring, pointing to internal regulations prohibiting the display of religious or philosophical beliefs. Not ruling on the merits, the Belgian court referred the matter to the CJEU, asking whether this general ban on the part of the company could constitute discrimination in breach of Directive 2000/78, when a person wearing a “visible sign (with connotations)” is treated less favourably than another worker who has no “need” to display their beliefs publicly. Relying on its case law (see articles n°10112 and n°12632), the Court sets two conditions for such a prohibition: the undifferentiated application of the rule according to beliefs and the demonstration by the company of a “legitimate aim”. The CJEU accepted these two conditions in this case, as the company argued that it wished to “display, in relations with both public- and private-sector customers, a policy of political, philosophical or religious neutrality”. All resources related to this article Attachments CURIA - Documents Need more info ? Contact mind's on-demand study service Which service do you want to contact :WritingCommercial serviceTechnical SupportFirst name Last name Organization Function email* Object of the message Your messageRGPD J’accepte la politique de confidentialité.CommentsThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Essentials Les dernières publications Supporting parenthood in the workplace: a win-win strategy Supporting employee carers: a CSR challenge Analyzes Les dernières publications Paternity leave: data observations from 41 countries EU: during H1 2022 five EU Member States have raised their minimum salary levels