Religiösa symboler på arbetsplatsen: Skydd enligt svensk och europeisk rätt?
(2023) JURM02 20231Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- I Europa finns olika uppfattningar angående i vilken utsträckning religiösa symboler ska tillåtas på arbetsplatser. Å ena sidan kan det finnas en vilja att hålla religiösa symboler utanför en arbetsplats, till exempel för att upprätthålla religiös neutralitet, å andra sidan en vilja att tillgodose arbetstagares rätt till religionsutövning. Med utgångspunkt i den rättsdogmatiska metoden, undersöker den här uppsatsen i vilken utsträckning Europakonventionen, EU-rätt och svensk rätt innebär skydd för personer att få bära religiösa symboler på arbetsplatsen. Med religiösa symboler avses även religiös klädsel.
Skyddet som berörs i uppsatsen kan delas upp i å ena sidan skydd för fri- och rättigheter, å andra sidan skydd emot diskriminering.... (More) - I Europa finns olika uppfattningar angående i vilken utsträckning religiösa symboler ska tillåtas på arbetsplatser. Å ena sidan kan det finnas en vilja att hålla religiösa symboler utanför en arbetsplats, till exempel för att upprätthålla religiös neutralitet, å andra sidan en vilja att tillgodose arbetstagares rätt till religionsutövning. Med utgångspunkt i den rättsdogmatiska metoden, undersöker den här uppsatsen i vilken utsträckning Europakonventionen, EU-rätt och svensk rätt innebär skydd för personer att få bära religiösa symboler på arbetsplatsen. Med religiösa symboler avses även religiös klädsel.
Skyddet som berörs i uppsatsen kan delas upp i å ena sidan skydd för fri- och rättigheter, å andra sidan skydd emot diskriminering. Angående fri- och rättigheter, visar uppsatsen inledningsvis att rätten till religionsutövning i artikel 9 i Europakonventionen utgör ett visst skydd för bärandet av religiösa symboler på arbetsplatsen. De enskilda konventionsstaterna ges dock en stor bedömningsmarginal gällande att motivera begränsningar av rättigheten, vilket innebär att skyddet i praktiken framför allt omfattar uppenbara fall av särbehandling. Artikel 10.1 i EU-stadgan om de grundläggande rättigheterna innehåller vidare en motsvarande rätt till religionsutövning. Rättigheten innebär ett liknande skydd som artikel 9 i Europakonventionen. I svensk rätt utgör även yttrandefriheten i 2 kap. 1 § regeringsformen ett visst skydd.
I uppsatsen noteras vidare att det EU-rättsliga arbetslivsdirektivet 2000/78 innehåller ett förbud mot diskriminering på grund av religion eller övertygelse i arbetslivet. Arbetslivsdirektivet har implementerats i svensk rätt genom diskrimineringslagen (2008:567). Beroende på omständigheterna i ett enskilt fall kan en arbetsgivares begränsning av bärandet av religiösa symboler utgöra direkt eller indirekt diskriminering enligt direktivet eller lagen. Eftersom förbudet mot indirekt diskriminering inbegriper en intresseavvägning, har arbetsgivare betydligt större möjligheter att motivera en begränsning som innebär indirekt särbehandling än en som innebär direkt särbehandling. Avslutningsvis kan nämnas att artikel 14 i Europakonventionen också innehåller ett visst diskrimineringsskydd. I praktiken utgör bestämmelsen ett liknande skydd som rätten till religionsutövning enligt artikel 9 i Europakonventionen. (Less) - Abstract
- There are different views in Europe regarding the extent to which religious symbols should be allowed in the workplace. On the one hand there may be an interest in leaving religious symbols out of the workplace, for instance to maintain religious neutrality, on the other hand an interest in accommodating workers’ right to manifest their religion or beliefs. With the legal dogmatic method as a starting point, this thesis examines to what extent the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), EU law and Swedish law constitute protection for persons to wear religious symbols in the workplace. The term ‘religious symbols’ includes religious clothing.
The protection covered in the thesis can be broken down into protection for rights and... (More) - There are different views in Europe regarding the extent to which religious symbols should be allowed in the workplace. On the one hand there may be an interest in leaving religious symbols out of the workplace, for instance to maintain religious neutrality, on the other hand an interest in accommodating workers’ right to manifest their religion or beliefs. With the legal dogmatic method as a starting point, this thesis examines to what extent the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), EU law and Swedish law constitute protection for persons to wear religious symbols in the workplace. The term ‘religious symbols’ includes religious clothing.
The protection covered in the thesis can be broken down into protection for rights and freedoms on the one hand, and protection against discrimination on the other. Regarding rights and freedoms, the thesis initially presents that the right to manifest one’s religion or beliefs under Article 9 of the ECHR constitutes a certain protection regarding the wearing of religious symbols in the workplace. The Contracting States are however accorded a large margin of appreciation in relation to justifying limitations on the right, meaning that the protection in practice mostly covers manifest differences of treatment. Article 10.1 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights further contains a corresponding right to manifest one’s religion or beliefs. The right amounts to a similar protection as Article 9 of the ECHR. In Swedish law, the freedom of expression under Chapter 2 Article 1 of the Instrument of Government also constitutes a certain protection.
The thesis further notes that the EU Employment Equality Directive 2000/78 includes a prohibition of discrimination based on religion or belief in the field of employment. The Employment Equality Directive is implemented in Swedish law by the Discrimination Act (2008:567). Depending on the circumstances, an employer’s limitation on the wearing of religious symbols could constitute direct or indirect discrimination under the Directive or the Act. Given that the prohibition of indirect discrimination includes a weighing of interests, there are much greater possibilities for employers to justify a limitation constituting indirect difference of treatment, than one constituting direct difference of treatment. Finally, it should be mentioned that Article 14 of the ECHR also contains a certain protection against discrimination. In practice, the provision amounts to a similar protection as the right to manifest one’s religion or beliefs under article 9 of the ECHR. (Less)
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http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9116353
- author
- Rosenqvist, Hanna LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Religious Symbols in the Workplace: Protection under Swedish and European Law?
- course
- JURM02 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- Religiösa symboler, Religiös klädsel, Religionsfrihet, Diskriminering, Konstitutionell rätt, Arbetsrätt, Europakonventionen, EU-rätt
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9116353
- date added to LUP
- 2023-06-08 12:06:10
- date last changed
- 2023-06-08 12:06:10
@misc{9116353,
abstract = {{There are different views in Europe regarding the extent to which religious symbols should be allowed in the workplace. On the one hand there may be an interest in leaving religious symbols out of the workplace, for instance to maintain religious neutrality, on the other hand an interest in accommodating workers’ right to manifest their religion or beliefs. With the legal dogmatic method as a starting point, this thesis examines to what extent the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), EU law and Swedish law constitute protection for persons to wear religious symbols in the workplace. The term ‘religious symbols’ includes religious clothing.
The protection covered in the thesis can be broken down into protection for rights and freedoms on the one hand, and protection against discrimination on the other. Regarding rights and freedoms, the thesis initially presents that the right to manifest one’s religion or beliefs under Article 9 of the ECHR constitutes a certain protection regarding the wearing of religious symbols in the workplace. The Contracting States are however accorded a large margin of appreciation in relation to justifying limitations on the right, meaning that the protection in practice mostly covers manifest differences of treatment. Article 10.1 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights further contains a corresponding right to manifest one’s religion or beliefs. The right amounts to a similar protection as Article 9 of the ECHR. In Swedish law, the freedom of expression under Chapter 2 Article 1 of the Instrument of Government also constitutes a certain protection.
The thesis further notes that the EU Employment Equality Directive 2000/78 includes a prohibition of discrimination based on religion or belief in the field of employment. The Employment Equality Directive is implemented in Swedish law by the Discrimination Act (2008:567). Depending on the circumstances, an employer’s limitation on the wearing of religious symbols could constitute direct or indirect discrimination under the Directive or the Act. Given that the prohibition of indirect discrimination includes a weighing of interests, there are much greater possibilities for employers to justify a limitation constituting indirect difference of treatment, than one constituting direct difference of treatment. Finally, it should be mentioned that Article 14 of the ECHR also contains a certain protection against discrimination. In practice, the provision amounts to a similar protection as the right to manifest one’s religion or beliefs under article 9 of the ECHR.}},
author = {{Rosenqvist, Hanna}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Religiösa symboler på arbetsplatsen: Skydd enligt svensk och europeisk rätt?}},
year = {{2023}},
}