A Rastafarian bus driver who was banned from wearing a religious headscarf while at work has won her battle with her employer.
Marcia Carty had been working for Metroline at the Perivale Depot in Ealing for 11 years before she was told to stop wearing her red, gold and green turban.
The company asked the 54-year-old in July to change her headscarf to a colouring more compliant with its uniform policy.
Carty took time off because she was suffering from stress and launched a grievance against Metroline – which has since relented and agreed to allow her to continue wearing the headwrap. She returned to her duties at work on Sunday.
Red, gold and green represent central tenets of Rastafarianism and many devout followers of the religion opt to wear them in observation of the faith.
Carty was supported in her fight by trade union Unite, which announced on Monday that it was in the process of launching a major campaign against the ‘religious and racial’ discrimination it said she was facing.
A petition against Metroline’s decision also attracted thousands of signatures, with a demand that London Mayor Sadiq Khan intervene.
Unite regional officer Russ Ball said: “Unite is very pleased that Metroline’s management has recognised that its policy was wrong and that it has now swiftly moved to resolve the situation.
“Unite will now hold negotiations with Metroline to resolve the other outstanding matters in the case and ensure that there are no similar problems in the future.”
A Metroline spokesperson told HuffPost UK the resolution of the case was not as a result of Unite’s intervention.
“Their claim of a victory is disappointing,” they added.
“Rather, this was resolved directly between Marcia and Metroline; we have listened carefully to Marcia and we are pleased that she is able to continue to move forward with us.”