A Muslim man is demanding £20,000 damages from Virgin Trains for religious discrimination because he was allegedly ordered to trim his beard too short.
Mohsin Mohmed claims that he was sacked from his job as customer service assistant at Euston station in London because he refused, even though he told his bosses he was required for religious reasons to have a beard at least one fist's length - about 10cm.
The case is believed to be the first to reach an employment tribunal since a new law last December gave workers discriminated against because of their religion or beliefs the right to sue.
"Nobody tells Richard Branson to shave his beard off. Why should I have to get rid of mine?" Mr Mohmed told a news agency yesterday.
In a written submission to Woburn Place employment tribunal, his lawyers said he had been offered the job after agreeing to trim his beard, which at the time was 20cm (8in) long.
When he began in August last year he was given permission to wear a religious turban provided it was in the company colours, red or black.
But his manager, David Adams, allegedly took exception to his beard and instructed him to trim it.
"Mr Mohmed explained that he already had, but David Adams did not believe it was short enough," the statement said.
From then on Mr Adams allegedly regularly harassed Mr Mohmed by ordering him to "do his trick" with his beard.
"Mr Mohmed asked David Adams what he meant by his comment. David Adams replied, 'Do your trick, the thing with your beard, check your length', or words to that effect.
"He asked Mr Mohmed that if he had a choice between keeping his job or shaving his beard off, what would he do?
"Mr Mohmed explained that he was not allowed to shave his beard off because of his religious beliefs."
He also said he had trimmed his beard on a number of occasions to the minimum required by his religion.
In February this year Mr Mohmed was summoned to a meeting by Mr Adams and told he was being dismissed for his "lack of enthusiasm".
In the statement Mr Mohmed said he believed that had he been a non-Muslim or white he would not have been sacked.
Virgin strongly denies discriminating against Mr Mohmed and says he was dismissed at the end of his probationary period for poor performance.