Key facts of the case - the applicant is a Muslim bilingual support worker at a Church of England school controlled by the respondent council whose request to wear a face veil (niqab) when teaching with male teachers was refused by the council’s education department on the ground that obscuring the face and mouth impeded effective communication with the pupils. Refusing to remove her veil, she was suspended.

Main reasoning of the court - Her claim for direct and indirect discrimination on religious grounds under regulation 3(1)(a) and (b) of the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 (applying Council Directive 2000/78/EC) was dismissed by the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). The EAT rejected a request that a reference be made to the European Court of Justice for clarification, inter alia, of whether a restriction on a manifestation of religion, in this case the wearing of a niqab, could constitute a form of direct religious discrimination as opposed to indirect discrimination.

See the decision: 2007-03-08 - Employment Appeal Tribunal, Azmi v Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council [2007] I.C.R. 1154, n. UKEAT/0009/07/MAA.