<p>The Sikh man was asked to leave the Royal English Hotel in suburban Brisbane on Sunday because his turban contravened its "no headwear" policy.<br />Coles subsidiary Spirit Hotels, which owns the venue, apologised to the unnamed man yesterday.<br /><br />"The general manager of the hotel contacted the man last night and offered an apology on behalf of the hotel and of the broader Spirit Group," a Coles spokesman was quoted as saying by media reports.<br /><br />"Our policy of no headwear is to be applied with sensitivity and due respect to religious and cultural beliefs.<br /><br />"Our understanding is he has accepted that offer and will not be taking it any further," he said.<br /><br />One of the staff members of the hotel had asked the man to remove his turban yesterday following which he left the place.<br /><br />The Sikh man, who had only been in the hotel for a few minutes when he was asked to leave, confirmed he had been offered an apology and indicated he had no plans to take up the issue further.<br /><br />"The bartender came over to me and said 'we have a no hat policy' and asked me to leave," he told ABC Radio.<br /><br />"I said 'it's not a hat, it's a turban' and she said 'it doesn't matter, you can't have anything on your head'. I said 'that's fine I'll go'," he said. <br /><br />The man said he had lived in Queensland for more than 20 years, and had never before experienced any similar problem.<br /><br />"My sister called the hotel yesterday morning and she was able to get hold of the Spirit Group and he's offered an apology to me," he said.<br /><br />He said it was "pretty much the end of the matter" as far as he was concerned.<br />However, Discrimination commissioner Graeme Innes said he may have grounds for a complaint of indirect discrimination because of the way the no headwear policy had been applied.<br /><br />"I would have thought we would certainly look at a complaint from him if he lodged a complaint," he told the ABC.</p>
<p>The Sikh man was asked to leave the Royal English Hotel in suburban Brisbane on Sunday because his turban contravened its "no headwear" policy.<br />Coles subsidiary Spirit Hotels, which owns the venue, apologised to the unnamed man yesterday.<br /><br />"The general manager of the hotel contacted the man last night and offered an apology on behalf of the hotel and of the broader Spirit Group," a Coles spokesman was quoted as saying by media reports.<br /><br />"Our policy of no headwear is to be applied with sensitivity and due respect to religious and cultural beliefs.<br /><br />"Our understanding is he has accepted that offer and will not be taking it any further," he said.<br /><br />One of the staff members of the hotel had asked the man to remove his turban yesterday following which he left the place.<br /><br />The Sikh man, who had only been in the hotel for a few minutes when he was asked to leave, confirmed he had been offered an apology and indicated he had no plans to take up the issue further.<br /><br />"The bartender came over to me and said 'we have a no hat policy' and asked me to leave," he told ABC Radio.<br /><br />"I said 'it's not a hat, it's a turban' and she said 'it doesn't matter, you can't have anything on your head'. I said 'that's fine I'll go'," he said. <br /><br />The man said he had lived in Queensland for more than 20 years, and had never before experienced any similar problem.<br /><br />"My sister called the hotel yesterday morning and she was able to get hold of the Spirit Group and he's offered an apology to me," he said.<br /><br />He said it was "pretty much the end of the matter" as far as he was concerned.<br />However, Discrimination commissioner Graeme Innes said he may have grounds for a complaint of indirect discrimination because of the way the no headwear policy had been applied.<br /><br />"I would have thought we would certainly look at a complaint from him if he lodged a complaint," he told the ABC.</p>