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Home > Workplace > Belgium > 1994-03-11 - Labour Court of Nivelles, (JLMB 1994.1400)

1994-03-11 - Labour Court of Nivelles, (JLMB 1994.1400)

Workplace · Belgium · Dismissal · Religious practices

Regulation of religious practices within the company

Key facts of the case - The applicant was an employee of Muslim faith, who did practice at times and places not allowed by his employer. He was dismissed for non abiding by the employer’s warnings.

Main reasoning of the court - According to the court, the employer is entitled to regulate (and even prohibit) a religious practice if it is internal, during working hours or in certain premises of the company. Dismissal after warning is not unreasonable in this context. It was up to the Muslim worker to practice during breaks and not in reserved anti-contamination rooms.
While it is true that the practice of a religion outside the company has no connection "with the conduct of the worker or the operational requirements of the enterprise", it is otherwise when the worker practices its religion within the premises of the company.