14 December 2017

Butlin's faces legal action over dodgems 'hijab ban'

A Muslim man has launched a discrimination case against the holiday company Butlins after he claims his teenage daughter was barred from using the dodgems because she was wearing a hijab.

Moammer Nasser, 41, a family-support worker from Birmingham, is bringing a claim for racial and religious discrimination after the incident at Butlins in Minehead in June.

Nasser was at the holiday resort with his wife and four children. He was waiting to use the dodgems with his 16-year-old daughter when an attendant said she could not go on the ride because she was wearing a hijab, and cited health and safety concerns.

Nasser complained and asked to see a policy banning hijabs at Butlins. He asked why others wearing various forms of scarves and headgear had not been similarly banned from using the dodgems on the same grounds.

.... He lodged a formal complaint with Butlins. Jan Axten, of Bourne Leisure Ltd, replied, saying it was company policy that no one could go on the ride if they were wearing a headscarf or loose garment which could not be removed.

This, Axten said, was due to a “previous very serious incident” in 2016 when a scarf around a visitor’s neck had come loose, got caught in the chassis and caused a serious neck and throat injury. [The Guardian] Read more