Dublin takeaway to pay €30k to employee who was banned from wearing hijab at work
Seán McCárthaigh
A Dublin takeaway restaurant that refused to allow a Muslim employee to wear her hijab at work has been ordered to pay compensation of over €30,000 for religious discrimination and other breaches of employment legislation, including unfair dismissal.
The Workplace Relations Commission ruled that Beauty and Beef Limited had discriminated against Hajar Aqqa, who worked as a counter assistant, in breach of the Employment Equality Act 1998 on grounds of gender, race and religion, for which she was awarded €13,000.
The WRC said the company had failed to provide any objective or legitimate reason to forbid the wearing of the hijab.
The WRC also found she had been unfairly dismissed after two months in the job in March 2024 when she complained that she was being paid below the national minimum wage.
Aqqa had described her job as “complete slavery.”
She claimed that she was told by her employer she was fat and stupid and eating a lot and trying to say there was something mentally wrong with her.
She was also asked if she was pregnant by her employer.
“I was made to feel like a second-class citizen in an environment of slavery,” Aqqa added.
The complainant, who comes from Morocco, claimed her employer had described her home country as “a sh*thole” and said he did not like people from Morocco.
She gave evidence that she was subjected to sarcastic remarks at work all the time and repeatedly told to stop wearing her hijab when she tried to wear it.
Aqqa also felt she was picked on because she was young.
She also claimed she was discriminated against in her conditions of employment as she was made to work until 3am, despite being hired to work from 5pm until 11pm or midnight.
Beauty and Beef Limited had claimed the wearing of an Islamic headscarf would not be tolerated as it was contrary to its policy of neutrality.
It subsequently amended its regulations which prohibited staff from wearing any visible signs of their political, philosophical or religious beliefs at work.
The company did not attend and was not legally represented at a WRC hearing that was reconvened after the case was reinstated by Aqqa after it had earlier been withdrawn following an apparent settlement.
Aqqa gave uncontested evidence that when she raised the issue about being paid below the national minimum wage she was told: “You don’t come back. Your bread with us is finished.”
The WRC said Beauty and Beef Limited had “failed to employ even the most rudimentary modicum of fair procedures.”
It awarded her compensation of €5,080 for being unfairly dismissed.
WRC adjudication officer, Eileen Campbell, said she was satisfied from Aqqa’s evidence that she had been asked by her employer if she was pregnant which represented discrimination on grounds of gender
Although the woman’s employer had described Morocco as a “sh*thole”, Campbell said the comment did not constitute racial discrimination.
She also ruled that Aqqa was not harassed under employment equality legislation as a result of being called fat and stupid, although she said such words were “beyond inappropriate on every level.”
“I can find no words that would adequately describe the alleged foregoing employer behaviour,” said Campbell.
However, she said the comment by the employer that he would “destroy her chances at applying for citizenship” did amount to racial discrimination.
The WRC ordered Beauty and Beef Limited to pay Aqqa total compensation of €30,347, including awards for various breaches of employment law governing pay and conditions.
