Hairdresser ordered to pay £4,000 to Muslim woman after refusing her a job because she wears a headscarf

A Muslim woman has been awarded £4,000 for "injury to feelings" after a hair salon owner refused to employ her because she wears a headscarf.

Bushra Noah accused Sarah Desrosiers, owner of a trendy central London hair salon, of religious discrimination after she failed to offer her a job in May last year.

A panel sitting at the central London employment tribunal dismissed her claim of direct discrimination but upheld her complaint of indirect discrimination.

Mrs Noah, of Acton, west London, applied for a job as a junior assistant at the Wedge salon in King's Cross.

Giving its judgment, the tribunal said it accepted that Ms Desrosiers said that Mrs Noah lived too far away but was persuaded to give her an interview.

But when the 19-year-old applicant arrived at the salon she claimed that the Canadian salon owner was clearly shocked by the fact she wore a headscarf.

Ms Desrosiers told the tribunal she was surprised that the younger woman had not mentioned it earlier.

She said she needed stylists to reflect the "funky, urban" image of her salon and showcase alternative hairstyles.

If an applicant had a conventional hairstyle she would insist that it was re-styled in a more "alternative" way, she said.

After a 15-minute meeting she and Mrs Noah parted and both parties told the tribunal it was obvious that the 19-year-old would not be offered the job.

The panel refused an application by Mrs Noah for aggravated damages and rejected her claims that the episode had put her off hairdressing, finding that she applied for further salon jobs before deciding to retrain in tourism.

But they did find that she had been badly upset by the 15-minute interview and awarded Mrs Noah £4,000 damages for "injury to feelings".

In their judgment, the panel stated: "We were satisfied by the respondent's evidence that the claimant was not treated less favourably than the respondent would have treated a woman who, whether Muslim or not, for a reason other than religious belief wears a hair covering at all times when at work."

But they also concluded: "There was no specific evidence before us as to what would (for sure) have been the actual impact of the claimant working in her salon with her head covered at all times.

"We concluded that, on a critical and balanced assessment, the degree of risk, while real, should not be assumed to be as great at the respondent believed."

Ms Desrosiers, 32, said: "I feel it is a bit steep for what actually happened. It's really scary for a small business.

"I never in a million years dreamt that somebody would be completely against the display of hair and be in this industry. I don't feel I deserve it."

She said she still had not appointed someone to the job and had decided to "leave it for a while".

Mrs Noah's legal representatives were not available for comment.