Discrimination for having long hair as a man?

hcb42

My old employer did not allow female office employees to wear trousers (it was a uniform - suit) although operational workers and department heads could.

poe.tuesday

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Corporate image - the employer wants the employee to be a suitable representative of the business.

it's 2011 not 1911 - long gone are the days that eveyone had to have a certain image - whilst you may still have to be smartly dressed, things such as hair styles, piercings etc are far more acceptable and so they should be IMO

also, having worked for one of the largest corporate companies in the UK I can assure you, they were very open to a variety of staff, as long as they could do their job was all that mattered, didn't matter to them the colour of the skin, if disabled, had pink hair or a tatooed face - a good cross section of society reflected in the workplace, as it should be

Slinky

Sorry but I have to disagree. Pierced or tattooed faces make me feel really uncomfortable and would put me off dealing with that employee.

FATBALLZ

Let's have a reality check here, the Jesus/"I don't go to the hairdressers as I spend all my free time playing computer games" look isn't professional at all.

poe.tuesday

Slinky wrote: »

Sorry but I have to disagree. Pierced or tattooed faces make me feel really uncomfortable and would put me off dealing with that employee.

that's sad as you are missing out on meeting some lovely people due to your conditional views on people because of what they look like

RuthnJasper

FATBALLZ wrote: »

Let's have a reality check here, the Jesus/"I don't go to the hairdressers as I spend all my free time playing computer games" look isn't professional at all.

Personally, although I find facial tatts and piercings off-putting, I think that long-ish hair is very attractive on a man (although NOT of the Francis "thinning on top but still going with the pony-tail 'round the back" Rossi or The Simpsons' "Comic Book Guy" type). Having said that, in a business environment where staff deal with customers, it often isn't appropriate where men are concerned.

It is true that people should NOT judge based upon looks alone - but they DO. It isn't just men either, though. I was once part of an interview panel and one female applicant had good qualifications but had to be ruled-out because she had pink highlights in her hair. This was in a former job of mine, where five- and six-figure sums would be paid and received on a daily basis - and most people in those spheres (and I know that it's wrong) wouldn't wish to deal with someone who had pink hair.

The first bite is with the eye... alas. x

tommy8721

Company policy will be written in such a manner that its specific enough to make a point but ambiguous enough to argue that point is here or there. He could choose to fight this request (but from what you say, he's going with the request) but i think that would be a mistake. If a girl came in with a shaved head, would something be said to her?

bendix

My firm - an international law firm - has a dress and appearance code for all its staff. I have just looked at it and am shocked and appalled to learn that dress codes for men are different for women. Should I file a discrimination claim - it just isnt fair.

Etc etc, blah blah blah, ad nauseum.

Slinky

poe.tuesday wrote: »

that's sad as you are missing out on meeting some lovely people due to your conditional views on people because of what they look like

Not everybody who has facial piercings or tattoos is lovely, same as not everybody without is either, but that's neither here nor there.

I'm the sort of person who cannot watch films with guts and gore, they make me uncomfortable. Self inflicted facial disfigurement comes into the same category for me. The reaction is not something I choose, its instinctive.

adouglasmhor

FATBALLZ wrote: »

Let's have a reality check here, the Jesus/"I don't go to the hairdressers as I spend all my free time playing computer games" look isn't professional at all.

but the OP clearly said he looks after his hair and has it cut regularly and keeps it tidy.