A Hindu worker, who was sacked from her job at the Heathrow airport for wearing a tiny nose stud, has been reinstated. 

Amrit Lalji, an employee of Eurest which supplies food and services to British Airway's VIP lounge at Heathrow, was asked to resume work after she won an appeal against the company's decision, the Daily Mail  reported.

"I had great support from the media, the union and my temple. It took me three months to get my job back, but I feel I shouldn't have been put in that position in the first place. They agreed that I could start work again and wear my stud in because I do not work in a catering area. I am happy to get my job back," the 43-year-old mother of three from Stanmore in North-West London [Images] was quoted as saying.

During her appeal, Lalji said she had been wearing the stud for 25 years since her marriage and Hindu women usually have their nose pierced and fitted with a stud while they marry. The company admitted that it misunderstood the service rules and her dismissal was "unjustified".

"We have found that the rules relating to facial piercings are mandatory only in catering. Though this is not clear in the handbook, given to all employees, it is specific in the text of the company's human resources directory.

"Since Lalji is not engaged in catering, her dismissal resulted from a misunderstanding of the rules and is therefore unjustified," a spokesperson for Eurest said.

It may be mentioned that another Heathrow worker Nadia Eweida was suspended last year by British Airways for wearing a cross on a necklace. But, within four months, the company backed down after pressure from various religious groups in the country.