Sainsbury's refusing applications if living more than 20 miles away

gringo69

I found out last week that I lost my job.
My Wife decided to look at working for Sainsbury's. The nearest role was a store 26.8 miles away. When trying to apply, it refused the application as they would only allow applications from people living within 20 miles of the store.
I personally visited the store and they could not do anything as all applications must be done on line.
I emailed Sainsbury's HR and got some duff standard response. I demanded a more structured response and received this:

Hello

Thank you for your email.

I’m sorry that my colleague’s previous response was not acceptable for you.

As a large retailer we are aware of the legalities of recruitment. We also under stand that when we build a Sainsbury’s we want the local communities to gain from the store. This is why we have taken the approach “local jobs for local people”. As my colleague mentioned below each store is very different. Some have different radius that they will recruit with in many being less than the 20 miles.

I’m sorry that you are not happy with the fact that we have chosen this method but I would suggest looking at a store that would be closer to your home.

Surely this is completely illegal.

Sambucus_Nigra

How is it illegal?

gringo69

It's discriminating on basis of location.
26.8 miles is not a long distance to commute and anybody has a legal right to apply for a job to earn a living. We don't have another Sainsbury's close to us.
They surely cannot promote this discrimination. If they want to allow the application and then put it in the bin as internally they have decided the distance is a concern then fair enough but to not even allow the application in the first place surely is not allowed.

DreamerV

I live a fair bit out (1 hour travel) from my university as I could not have afforded such a nice house if I had lived closer. I would hate picking a location to have affected my chances of a job/university/whatever else. It doesn't seem fair.

On the other hand, I have a feeling that some stores get planning permission on the premise they recruit locally, within a certain radius. I have read this as a scenario in assessment centres but not seen it in practice, so I am not 100% sure.

I would still be miffed though.

christineperseus

Ask them under the freedom of information act how far the store managers travel - my friend travels from Colchester to the Southend area every day! a sight more than 20 miles.
How far do people travel when they go to their head office in Holburn? or is theirs a variable policy?

Arcana

20 miles?..... I could swear it said 5 miles (around London) last time I tried to apply.

*just checked*. It's 5 miles radius which is a very small area and means I can pretty much only apply for 1 Sainsbury's.

LadyMissA

Living local really doesn't mean local people as you could arrive here from Poland tomorrow and apply if you live near enough. Sorry but that's how it is. Maybe they should promote more British jobs for British people. (awaits backlash)

marybelle01

gringo69 wrote: »

It's discriminating on basis of location.

No they aren't because there is no such thing in the law. Race yes. Gender yes. Sexual orientation yes. Location? Absolutely not. If they want to apply this policy then it is entirely up to them and there is nothing that you can do about it. Other, of course, than to make a note that your wife's name is probably now on file as a "litigatious troublemaker" and so they may not want her at any nearer stores either. Because from their reply it sounds like you told them all about the "legalities of recruitment" and got it wrong. This isn't discrimination.

marybelle01

christineperseus wrote: »

Ask them under the freedom of information act how far the store managers travel

The FOI only applies to public authorities. You can't use it to obtain information from a private sector employer

gringo69

the email did say it was variable and some were less than 20 miles.
Thanks too to DreamerV and Christineperdeus for your comments.
I have emailed Justin King, the CEO for his comments.

marybelle01

LadyMissA wrote: »

(awaits backlash)

Why? Did you say that just to promote one?