Teacher wins €7,000 compensation after rejection for wearing headscarf
The state of Berlin has been ordered to pay a Muslim teacher €6,900 after it rejected her job application on the grounds that she wore a head scarf.
The Berlin labour court ordered the state to pay the woman the equivalent of two months’ salary. A second case of a teacher whom the state rejected because of her head scarf is also currently being considered by the court.
Both women had applied for positions at Berlin schools, but were told during job interviews that they would not be permitted to wear head scarves at work. According to the state of Berlin's neutrality law, state employees are not allowed to display religious symbols while in their place of employment.
This is not the first time that a Muslim teacher has won compensation from the capital's education authorities in a dispute over the conservative religious head wear.
In February the Berlin labour court awarded a teacher €8,680 for the same reason. The court agreed with the woman’s argument that rejecting her on the basis of her headscarf constituted religious discrimination. But the court said at the time that its ruling was on an individual case and did not have wider legal implications.
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The Berlin labour court ordered the state to pay the woman the equivalent of two months’ salary. A second case of a teacher whom the state rejected because of her head scarf is also currently being considered by the court.
Both women had applied for positions at Berlin schools, but were told during job interviews that they would not be permitted to wear head scarves at work. According to the state of Berlin's neutrality law, state employees are not allowed to display religious symbols while in their place of employment.
This is not the first time that a Muslim teacher has won compensation from the capital's education authorities in a dispute over the conservative religious head wear.
In February the Berlin labour court awarded a teacher €8,680 for the same reason. The court agreed with the woman’s argument that rejecting her on the basis of her headscarf constituted religious discrimination. But the court said at the time that its ruling was on an individual case and did not have wider legal implications.
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