Amersfoort city council was within its rights to reduce the welfare benefits of a man who refused to shave his beard while following training to work with asbestos, administrative appeal court judges said on Tuesday.

The man needed to shave so he could wear proper safety gear but refused to do so on religious grounds.

While banning beards could be seen as an infringement of freedom of religion, it was permitted because safety masks are a ‘compulsory and necessary means to protect health’, the court said.

‘In addition, the man had few other opportunities to find a job,’ the court said. ‘The training programme included a guaranteed job and opportunity for paid employment.’

In a second case, also revolving around freedom of religion, Tilburg city council was told it was wrong to cut the benefits of a man who did not want to work on Friday afternoon because he had to attend mosque.

Working on Friday was a compulsory part of the job he had been offered at a local junk shop, the court was told.

However, judges said that the shop’s opening hours left enough other options open and there was no real reason to cut the man’s benefits.