05 January 2018

SAS headscarves policy 'not discriminatory': ombudsman

A uniform policy by Scandinavian airline SAS banning staff who deal directly with customers from wearing religious symbols like headscarves does not breach anti-discrimination laws, Sweden's Discrimination Ombudsman (DO) has judged.

The policy first made headlines in April 2017, when a woman who had gone through the interview process for a job with the company was told she would not be allowed to wear a headscarf if she took the position.

Aye Alhassani told The Local at the time that she thought it would have been better if the company told her about the policy at the start of the interview process.

"I could've then looked for other jobs and not prioritized the SAS job over others and let them go," she noted, adding that she hoped other Swedish companies would not adopt similar policies. [The Local] Read more