Wins ‘no-beards’ payout

‘‘He could relate to it on a personal level. He saw the hunger, I wanted to fight.’’

In a statement from the UK, Singh said Sethi had felt ‘‘dutybound’’ to fight back against the ‘‘no-beards’’ policy.

‘‘The case is important because it shows that a no-beard policy will be subject to close scrutiny by the tribunals and courts in order to be satisfied that there is a legitimate aim and if so whether the policy is a proportionate means to achieve that aim.

‘‘When courts have considered no-beard policies before, the cases have tended not to support Sikhs, but in my view this decision demonstrates a wider awareness of the importance of uncut hair to many Sikhs.

‘‘Employers will need to explore making exceptions, for example, wearing a net if handling food as well as understanding that beards can be well-groomed, if that is a legitimate aim. Sikhs should feel empowered to challenge nobeard policies.

‘‘The case was not one where Mr Sethi was pressing for compensation: indeed he travelled from New Zealand for the final hearing.’’

Sethi was deeply hurt by the decision not to recruit him and, like many Sikhs, felt duty-bound to fight for justice, Singh said.

‘‘It was a pleasure to represent him.

‘‘I would also add that I do not think this would spell the end of no-beard policies being applied to Sikhs. As a discrimination lawyer I regularly see inequalities. However, this case will certainly put many employers on notice and they will be well advised to review any no-beard policies and how they apply them.

‘‘In terms of recovering the compensation, Mr Sethi and I were not motivated by money. I note the comments that some of the hotels have made in response and I suspect they may think twice about using the agency. I would urge the director to do the honourable thing.’’

Sethi was sanguine about the prospect of never seeing the cash, and he said it still felt good to have won.

‘‘It’s good to see the hotels are talking about it, the industry too.’’

Sethi is planning to sell his grocery store and continue with his travels, with Canada his next stop.

Claridge’s opened in the wellheeled central London suburb of Mayfair in 1856, and has hosted high-society events including Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s wedding reception in 1981 and the Queen and Prince Philip’s 40th wedding anniversary bash.

Raman Sethi, pictured right with his lawyer Mukhtiar Singh, says it was good to see that his employment tribunal win was making the hospitality industry take notice of ‘‘no-beard’’ policies.