Arbetsgivarpolicyer i ljuset av diskriminering och likabehandling - En utredning av arbetsgivares ansvar vid policyanvändning samt hur religion och kön kan mötas i frågor som rör arbetsgivarpolicyer om religiösa manifestationer i arbetslivet
(2025) JURM02 20251Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Att bära ett kristet kors runt halsen, en muslimsk huvudduk eller judisk kippa på huvudet är exempel på religiösa manifestationer som arbetsgivaren kan förbjuda genom att införa en neutralitetspolicy, och detta har varit återkommande anledning till debatt i Sverige under de senaste åren. Frågan om neutralitetspolicyer, och arbetsgivarpolicyer i stort, har satt svenska arbetsgivare i en svår situation då det saknas rättslig reglering om hur förbud kan utformas och användas på ett icke-diskriminerande sätt i förhållande till diskrimineringsgrunderna religion och kön.
Med utgångspunkt i den rättsdogmatiska och EU-rättsliga metoden syftar den här uppsatsen därmed att undersöka vilket ansvar och vilka krav som ankommer på arbetsgivare som... (More) - Att bära ett kristet kors runt halsen, en muslimsk huvudduk eller judisk kippa på huvudet är exempel på religiösa manifestationer som arbetsgivaren kan förbjuda genom att införa en neutralitetspolicy, och detta har varit återkommande anledning till debatt i Sverige under de senaste åren. Frågan om neutralitetspolicyer, och arbetsgivarpolicyer i stort, har satt svenska arbetsgivare i en svår situation då det saknas rättslig reglering om hur förbud kan utformas och användas på ett icke-diskriminerande sätt i förhållande till diskrimineringsgrunderna religion och kön.
Med utgångspunkt i den rättsdogmatiska och EU-rättsliga metoden syftar den här uppsatsen därmed att undersöka vilket ansvar och vilka krav som ankommer på arbetsgivare som vill införa en policy enligt vilken arbetstagarens religionsfrihet begränsas i arbetslivet. Härutöver syftar uppsatsen till att analysera hur religion och kön kan mötas i frågor som rör arbetsgivarpolicyer och religiösa manifestationer genom användning av den intersektionella teorin.
Arbetsgivarens beslutanderätt inom ramen för anställningen tar sig uttryck i den EU-rättsliga principen om näringsfrihet och den svenska principen om arbetsledningsrätt. Till följd av arbetsledningsrätten ges arbetsgivaren bland annat möjlighet att utfärda arbetsgivarpolicyer, inklusive sådana policyer som förbjuder bärandet av religiösa manifestationer under arbetstid. I kontrast till arbetsgivarens rätt införa policyer som förbjuder religiösa manifestationer står arbetstagarens rätt till religionsfrihet samt skyddet mot diskriminering på grund av religion och kön.
Undersökningen mynnar ut i följande slutsatser. Av rättspraxis framträder tre specifika krav som arbetsgivare har ett ansvar att uppfylla vid policyinförande: policyn måste ha en bakomliggande strategi med ett berättigat syfte, arbetstagarna måste få tillgång till dess innehåll och den måste vara redan existerande. Det finns mycket som talar för att kraven har ett brett tillämpningsområde, och alla arbetsgivarpolicyer som ger uttryck för arbetsgivarens arbetsledningsrätt torde således falla därinom. Analysen visar vidare att diskriminering som har samband med multipla diskrimineringsgrunder kan skapa en ökad utsatthet för den person eller grupp som utsätts för diskriminering. Det går inte att med säkerhet säga att neutralitetspolicyer med inriktning på religion är könsdiskriminerande gentemot kvinnliga religionsutövare i arbetslivet – beroende på religion kan såväl män som kvinnor vara särskilt utsatta. Det finns därför ett behov av att utveckla rättspraxis på området för att få tydligare vägledning i frågan. I ljuset av den ökade utsattheten är slutsatsen som kan dras att såväl rättsväsendet som arbetsgivare måste ta hänsyn till hur olika grunder kan förstärka varandra, och inte endast analysera dem var för sig. (Less) - Abstract
- To wear a Christian cross around the neck, an Islamic headscarf or a Jewish kippah on the head are examples of religious manifestations which an employer may prohibit through a neutrality policy, and this has been a recurring cause for debate in Sweden in recent years. The question of neutrality policies, and employer policies in general, has put Swedish employers in a difficult situation due to the lack of legal regulation as how prohibitions can be designed and used in a non-discriminatory manner in relation to the grounds of discrimination of religion and gender.
Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is through the use of the legal dogmatic method and the EU legal analysis to examine what responsibility and which requirements... (More) - To wear a Christian cross around the neck, an Islamic headscarf or a Jewish kippah on the head are examples of religious manifestations which an employer may prohibit through a neutrality policy, and this has been a recurring cause for debate in Sweden in recent years. The question of neutrality policies, and employer policies in general, has put Swedish employers in a difficult situation due to the lack of legal regulation as how prohibitions can be designed and used in a non-discriminatory manner in relation to the grounds of discrimination of religion and gender.
Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is through the use of the legal dogmatic method and the EU legal analysis to examine what responsibility and which requirements employers must meet when introducing a policy that restricts the employees’ freedom of religion. In addition, the aim is to analyse how religion and gender are encountered in issues related to employer policies and religious manifestations through the use of the intersectional theory.
The employer’s right to decide within the framework of the employment is expressed in the EU legal principle of freedom to conduct a business and the Swedish managerial prerogative. As a result of this right, the employer is given the opportunity to issue employer policies, including policies that prohibit religious manifestations during working hours. In contrast to the employer’s right to establish policies that prohibit religious manifestations, is the employee’s right to freedom of religion as well as the protection against discrimination on the grounds of religion and gender.
The analysis results in the following conclusions. Three specific requirements emerge from case-law that employers have a responsibility to meet when implementing a policy: it must have an underlying strategy with a legitimate purpose, employees must have access to its content and it must already exist. There is much to suggest that the requirements come with a broad scope of application and all employer policies that express the managerial prerogative should therefore fall within this scope. The analysis further shows that discrimination linked to mulitple grounds can create an increased vulnerability for the person or the group that is subjected to discrimination. It is not possible to say with certainty that neutrality policies targeting religion are gender discriminatory towards female religious practitioners in working life – depending on the religion, both men and women may be particularly vulnerable. Therefore, there is a need to develop case-law in this area to provide clearer guidance on the issue. In the light of the increased vulnerability, it can be concluded that both the judiciary and employers must take into account how different grounds can reinforce each other, and not only analyse them individually. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9188938
- author
- Sjöholm, Elsa LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Employer policies in the light of discrimination and equal treatment - An investigation of employer's responsibility when implementing policies and how religion and gender can meet in different ways in issues regarding employer policies and religious manifestations in working life
- course
- JURM02 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- Arbetsrätt, Arbetsgivarpolicyer, Neutralitetspolicyer, Religiösa manifestationer, Religiösa symboler, Religionsfrihet, Diskriminering, Kön, Intersektionalitet
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9188938
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-09 10:23:34
- date last changed
- 2025-06-09 10:23:34
@misc{9188938, abstract = {{To wear a Christian cross around the neck, an Islamic headscarf or a Jewish kippah on the head are examples of religious manifestations which an employer may prohibit through a neutrality policy, and this has been a recurring cause for debate in Sweden in recent years. The question of neutrality policies, and employer policies in general, has put Swedish employers in a difficult situation due to the lack of legal regulation as how prohibitions can be designed and used in a non-discriminatory manner in relation to the grounds of discrimination of religion and gender. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is through the use of the legal dogmatic method and the EU legal analysis to examine what responsibility and which requirements employers must meet when introducing a policy that restricts the employees’ freedom of religion. In addition, the aim is to analyse how religion and gender are encountered in issues related to employer policies and religious manifestations through the use of the intersectional theory. The employer’s right to decide within the framework of the employment is expressed in the EU legal principle of freedom to conduct a business and the Swedish managerial prerogative. As a result of this right, the employer is given the opportunity to issue employer policies, including policies that prohibit religious manifestations during working hours. In contrast to the employer’s right to establish policies that prohibit religious manifestations, is the employee’s right to freedom of religion as well as the protection against discrimination on the grounds of religion and gender. The analysis results in the following conclusions. Three specific requirements emerge from case-law that employers have a responsibility to meet when implementing a policy: it must have an underlying strategy with a legitimate purpose, employees must have access to its content and it must already exist. There is much to suggest that the requirements come with a broad scope of application and all employer policies that express the managerial prerogative should therefore fall within this scope. The analysis further shows that discrimination linked to mulitple grounds can create an increased vulnerability for the person or the group that is subjected to discrimination. It is not possible to say with certainty that neutrality policies targeting religion are gender discriminatory towards female religious practitioners in working life – depending on the religion, both men and women may be particularly vulnerable. Therefore, there is a need to develop case-law in this area to provide clearer guidance on the issue. In the light of the increased vulnerability, it can be concluded that both the judiciary and employers must take into account how different grounds can reinforce each other, and not only analyse them individually.}}, author = {{Sjöholm, Elsa}}, language = {{swe}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Arbetsgivarpolicyer i ljuset av diskriminering och likabehandling - En utredning av arbetsgivares ansvar vid policyanvändning samt hur religion och kön kan mötas i frågor som rör arbetsgivarpolicyer om religiösa manifestationer i arbetslivet}}, year = {{2025}}, }