British Airways (BA) has been inundated with requests to change its uniform policy after the airline banned an employee from wearing a crucifix.
Nadia Eweida, who works for the BA check-in team, claimed she was forced to take unpaid leave after she refused to remove her crucifix necklace while on duty.
BA’s uniform policy states that staff may only wear religious symbols if they are concealed underneath the uniform. But other religious items – such as turbans and bangles – can be worn, “as it is not practical for staff to conceal them beneath their uniform.”
Eweida’s claim has generated dozens of angry responses from committed Christians, politicians and lawyers.
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Ann Widdecombe, MP for Maidstone and The Weald and former Home Office minister, said: “As far as I’m concerned, this is religious discrimination and I don’t think Christians have to take it. Don’t fly BA.”
Mark Stephens, a partner in Finers Stephens Innocent law firm, said the company was “out of step” with employment law.
