The European Court ruled that companies operating in the EU have the right to ban their employees from wearing Islamic burkas at the workplace. Judge Juliane Kokott clarified that companies could exercise this ban on condition that there was no discrimination against specific religious groups.

The ruling came as a result of a law suit filed by a Muslim woman against her Belgian employer, after he fired her for refusing to comply with company policies the forbade staff from wearing religious symbols. The woman insisted she wore her head scarf on the jobs, but the company laid her off after 3 years of service.

The ruling says European private companies have the prerogative to lay down the rules regarding their employee dress code when it comes to religious symbols. The decision, although not binding, is expected to cause reactions in the Muslim communities, as the European Court rarely overturns decisions of such nature.