Background

Ms Begum was offered an apprenticeship as trainee nursery assistant at the Barley Lane Montessori Day Nursery. An observant Muslim, she believed that her religion required her to wear a jilbab; and on being told that the nursery would not allow her to wear a jilbab at work of what she regarded as the appropriate length – described in the judgment as “a flowing full-length garment that can reach at least to her ankles when standing” [5] – she decided that she was unable to accept the apprenticeship.

Before an Employment Tribunal she had claimed that she had suffered a detriment in relation to the manifestation of her religious belief; but the Tribunal had dismissed her claim. Continue reading →