Key facts of the case - An employee of Aldeasa, refused to comply with the company’s policy relating to workers’ attire. The worker was a member of the Muslim community and was serving as a cashier at the duty free shop at Barajas Airport. A few weeks after beginning employment, the company sent a letter to all the workers indicating that employees should wear the summer attire, consisting of a blue skirt above the knees, blouse and long sleeve jacket.
The cashier wrote a letter to the manager of the company, asking to be exempted from this and to wear instead attire according to her religious beliefs, which required long skirts. The request was rejected by the company, which emphasized that the internal rules of the company were applicable to all workers regardless of any other consideration, including religious beliefs.

Main reasoning of the court - The Superior Court of Justice rejected her lawsuit, stating that although the company should adapt its activity to the religious needs of its workers, they should behave in good faith. That is, when applying for a job, workers should indicate that they belong to a particular denomination which requires certain attitudes – including clothing obligations – from them. This condition of good faith behaviour would allow the company to weigh up if the religious convictions of the applicant can be accommodated within the business framework.
Comment – An important consequence of this decision was that was used by the Spanish Council of State to propose that the text of Article 12 of the Agreements of 1992 with the Evangelical, Jewish and Islamic federations should be more protective for the rights of the employer and was more restrictive of the rights of employees to celebrate their religious festivities. The suggestions of the Council of State were followed and inspired the current text of Article 12 of those Agreements, which conditions the respect for the employees’ days of rest to an agreement with the employer.