EU companies can ban employees wearing headscarves, court rules

Prohibition can only be implemented against all religious symbols as part of a policy of neutrality

Private employers in the EU can ban people from wearing religious symbols, including headscarves, in order to present an image of neutrality, the bloc's highest court has ruled.

Companies can ban headscarves provided such a prohibition is part of a policy against all religious and political symbols, the court said on Thursday, reaffirming a 2017 ruling. The latest judgment went further by examining the grounds employers can use when making such prohibitions.