Employers can ban staff from wearing headscarves, says EU court

EU companies have the right to prohibit employees from wearing religious or political symbols

Employers may bar staff from wearing visible religious symbols, the European Union's top court ruled on Tuesday in its first decision on the issue of women wearing Islamic headscarves at work.

On the eve of a Dutch election in which Muslim immigration has been a key issue and a bellwether for attitudes to migration and refugee policies across Europe, the Court of Justice (ECJ) gave a joined judgment in the cases of two women, in France and Belgium, who were dismissed for refusing to remove headscarves.

"An internal rule of an undertaking which prohibits the visible wearing of any political,