02 October,2015 06:06 AM IST | | Agencies
Turban-wearing Sikhs will now have the ‘right to choose not to wear head protection’ and will be exempted from legal requirements to wear a safety helmet in the majority of workplaces
London: Sikhs in Britain will no longer face legal action for wearing turbans in a majority of workplaces after the government announced a new set of rules on Thursday.
"Turban-wearing Sikhs will now have the right to choose not to wear head protection and will be exempt from legal requirements to wear a safety helmet in the majority of workplaces," an official statement from the British government said.
Since 1989, Sikhs working in the construction industry have been exempted from rules requiring head protection but because of a legal loophole, those in less dangerous industries were not.
"There are exclusions for emergency response services and the military, which apply only in hazardous operational situations when the wearing of a safety helmet is considered necessary," the statement read.
This will not, however, bar Sikhs from the armed forces, police and fire services, and the new clause will make no blanket ban on participation. There are about 4,000 Sikhs in police and 230 across the armed forces.
