Banning of visible religious symbols

The European Court of Justice has ruled that companies can ban visible religious and political symbols as part of a general policy.  This is the first decision that a court has made with regard to banning women wearing Islamic head scarves at work.  The decision states that head scarves can be banned as part of a general policy barring all religious and political symbols.  It is not direct discrimination if a company wants to project a neutral image and has a legitimate reason to do this.

A customer of the company cannot demand removal of the headscarf if the company does not have a policy in place.

If a company requires a policy to be in place, the policy should clearly states that any religious or political symbols are prohibited.  This also applies to employees wearing any jewellery that is of religious nature.

The ‘Gig Economy’ case

Recent cases have highlighted the importance of knowing if your workers are self-employed or employed. Two cases Uber and Pimlico Plumbers had court cases and in both of those, it was decided that the people were workers and not self-employed which has resulted in them having certain rights including minimum wage, sick pay and holiday pay.

Changes to mobile phones whilst driving

Changes to use of mobile phones whilst driving came into effect recently, if you are caught using your mobile phone whilst driving, you will now get 6 points on your driving licence and pay £200 fine. If you provide staff with company mobile phones, make sure you have a mobile phone policy in place that states that they are not allowed to use their mobile phone whilst driving.