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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Heathrow worker sacked over stud | |
| (about 10 hours later) | |
| A Heathrow Airport worker has been dismissed for wearing a nose stud. | A Heathrow Airport worker has been dismissed for wearing a nose stud. |
| Amrit Lalji, 40, of Stanmore, north-west London, who worked for caterers Eurest, said she wore the tiny piercing as a mark of her Hindu faith. | |
| She had worn the stud at work for more than a year until a manager told her to remove it. She refused and was suspended, and subsequently sacked. | |
| Eurest said for health and safety reasons jewellery and piercings were not allowed at work. | Eurest said for health and safety reasons jewellery and piercings were not allowed at work. |
| Mrs Lalji said she had produced a letter from her local Hindu community to support her case. | |
| Work hazard | Work hazard |
| "I feel I am being discriminated against," she said. "It is only a tiny stud and I wear it as part of my Hindu faith." | "I feel I am being discriminated against," she said. "It is only a tiny stud and I wear it as part of my Hindu faith." |
| Ms Lalji's union, GMB, said it would hold talks with her employer to try to have her reinstated immediately. | |
| Jewellery can harbour bacteria, create a hazard when working with machinery and find its way into the food people eat Eurest statement | |
| Union official Tahir Bhatti said: "The company always knew she would not remove the nose stud and clearly had no problem with this until a manager complained." | Union official Tahir Bhatti said: "The company always knew she would not remove the nose stud and clearly had no problem with this until a manager complained." |
| A statement by Eurest said Mrs Lalji had been advised of company policy "on a number of occasions". | |
| "Jewellery can harbour bacteria, create a hazard when working with machinery and find its way into the food people eat," it said. | "Jewellery can harbour bacteria, create a hazard when working with machinery and find its way into the food people eat," it said. |
| "Mrs Lalji's decision not to return to work without the nose stud contravenes company rules and regulations, and she was dismissed." | |
| Last year, Heathrow worker Nadia Eweida was suspended by British Airways for wearing a Christian cross but later reinstated following condemnation by clerics and politicians. | Last year, Heathrow worker Nadia Eweida was suspended by British Airways for wearing a Christian cross but later reinstated following condemnation by clerics and politicians. |