PTI

London, Sep 19: A Hindu worker at Heathrow Airport has lost her job for wearing a tiny nose stud.

"I am extremely upset by this and feel that I am being discriminated against. I had always made it clear that I wear it as part of my Hindu faith. I'm not expecting people to make huge exceptions for me and I could understand if I was wearing a massive stud but this is a tiny pin."

"It was so small it was almost impossible to see. I was completely happy to wear all the uniform. I'm just asking for a little bit of tolerance and common sense over me wearing a nose stud," the 'Daily Mail' reported here today, quoting 43-year-old Amrit Lalji, a mother of three, as saying.

Lalji from Stanmore in North-West London was a cleaner and customer relations worker for Eurest which supplies food and services to British Airway's VIP lounge at Heathrow. Her job involved greeting first-class passengers at the lounge.

She had worn the stud without any complaints from customers since she started work in March last year. But, last month she was told by bosses at Eurest that a BA manager had ordered her to remove it or lose her job. She was fired last week after a disciplinary hearing.

When contacted, a Eurest spokesman told the daily: "Lalji had been advised of company policy on a number of occasions which states that, with the exception of a plain wedding ring and sleeper earrings, jewellery must not be worn on duty and flesh piercings are not permitted.

"Jewellery can harbour bacteria, create a hazard when working with machinery and find its way into food. Her decision not to return to work without the stud contravenes company regulations and she was dismissed."

However, the Hindu Council in the UK has flayed the company's decision.

"It is as integral a part of the Hindu wedding ceremony as the giving of a wedding ring is within a Christian marriage. These marks are not just the outward symbol of marriage -- traditionally they are believed to help ensure the match is harmonious.

"If the company concerned allows wedding bands, we don't see why she can't wear a tiny nose stud," a spokesperson of the council was quoted as saying.

Last year, the BA had suspended check-in worker Nadia Eweida after she had refused to stop wearing a tiny crucifix while on duty. However, she was later reinstated.