Male employee asked to cut hair short

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  • jobbingmusician
    jobbingmusician Posts: 20,343
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    I am surprised at the requirement in a written document simply because it is blatant discrimination against Sikh men, and so is obviously unlawful. If I wanted to take this battle on (and with less than 2 years' employment, I would think carefully before doing so) this is the first argument I would put to the employer, asking if they really meant that all men should have short hair, or if they *really* mean that both sexes should be well groomed and tidy.
    I was a board guide here for many years, but have now resigned. Amicably, but I think it reflects very poorly on MSE that I have not even received an acknowledgement of my resignation! Poor show, MSE.

    This signature was changed on 6.4.22. This is an experiment to see if anyone from MSE picks up on this comment.
  • I am surprised at the requirement in a written document simply because it is blatant discrimination against Sikh men, and so is obviously unlawful. If I wanted to take this battle on (and with less than 2 years' employment, I would think carefully before doing so) this is the first argument I would put to the employer, asking if they really meant that all men should have short hair, or if they *really* mean that both sexes should be well groomed and tidy.


    Well the employer would simply say that they would make an exception in the case of Sikh men otherwise that would be unlawful discrimination. But the OP's relative is not a Sikh - I assume they would have mentioned if they were.
  • jobbingmusician
    jobbingmusician Posts: 20,343
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    So you feel it's OK to embed unlawful discrimination in written policies and then to say 'we'd make an exception'? Because that was my point.....
    I was a board guide here for many years, but have now resigned. Amicably, but I think it reflects very poorly on MSE that I have not even received an acknowledgement of my resignation! Poor show, MSE.

    This signature was changed on 6.4.22. This is an experiment to see if anyone from MSE picks up on this comment.
  • seven-day-weekend
    seven-day-weekend Posts: 36,755
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    I must admit, as a female, I would not want to cut my long hair for employment purposes. I would, however, have no objection to tie it back....or put it in a bun. I assume this would be considered acceptable.

    This man's long hair is in a bun. I think therefore, this is something based more on 'acceptable business dress' than anything else, and custom in this field dictates that men have short hair (or, if Sikhs, that they cover it with a smart turban).

    Whether this is discrimination, I don't know, but a polite word with his employer to see if they can come to some compromise might not be a bad idea, in the first instance.
    (AKA HRH_MUngo)
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  • ThemeOne
    ThemeOne Posts: 1,471
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    I haven't read the whole thread, so apologies if this has already been said.

    The best thing for this company to have done from the employee's point of view, would have been to make the required hair style a condition of employment. After all, they'd already seen the man bun when they interviewed him.

    They either just didn't think to do this, or thought doing so might land them in trouble, so easier to try and enforce it after employment started, when employee has more to lose i.e. his job.

    I'd advise your relative to be very careful speaking to HR about this, if the company has HR, they mostly just do what senior management tell them to.
  • Smodlet
    Smodlet Posts: 6,976
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    Just thought of this and it is probably moot at this stage but would it be acceptable to the employer if this man were to tie his hair back and tuck it inside his jacket collar? It would not be nearly so obvious his hair was very long then.

    I vaguely remember the bass player Rudy Sarzo saying in an interview that he did this back in his lounge band days before he found fame.
  • Shave it to a crew cut and then dye it pink.

    That `ll learn em.
  • phill99
    phill99 Posts: 9,094
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    If I was his boss I would sack him.


    This is another example of the Millennial Generation wanting everything their own way "I know my rights".


    Life isn't about getting your own way all the time. Life is about doing what is required of you, whether its in the work place, driving or anything else that requires a level of regulation. But some people don't think that rules and regulation applies to them. Well hard luck. This is the real world.
    Eat vegetables and fear no creditors, rather than eat duck and hide.
  • MacMickster
    MacMickster Posts: 3,629
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    I am surprised at the requirement in a written document simply because it is blatant discrimination against Sikh men, and so is obviously unlawful. If I wanted to take this battle on (and with less than 2 years' employment, I would think carefully before doing so) this is the first argument I would put to the employer, asking if they really meant that all men should have short hair, or if they *really* mean that both sexes should be well groomed and tidy.

    I'm sure that if absolutely necessary the employer could specify short hair or hair covered by a neatly wrapped turban.

    I'm amazed that this thread is on its 4th page. The OP wanted to know what to advise a young family member working for a small (and conservative) local firm.

    Surely the only sensible advice is to either get his hair cut or get a job with an employer with a more liberal dress code. It would be absolute stupidity for a young man to take on their employer over an issue such as this.
    "When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
  • MacMickster
    MacMickster Posts: 3,629
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    Les79 wrote: »
    But would you have been as critical were the person in question not in the "young" category? Maybe some 50 year old who just fancied challenging the rules?

    I ask out of curiosity, as I see this quite a bit where "young" people are often dismissed from things like this more because of their age. Your advice pretty much amounted to either "comply or die"; do what they tell you to do, or go find another job. It is a personal bugbear of mine, as I suspect that quite a lot of young people in employment face this reality in situations where an older person would be old enough and ugly enough to challenge the employer.

    A 50 year old with a good CV, record of achievment and a solid reputation within their chosen field of work may have the luxury of challenging the rules and being able to live with the consequences either way.

    Someone new to the world of work, taking on an issue such as this which is far from clear cut, could potentially be regarded as unemployable by many local businesses if this went to a tribunal and made it into the press.
    "When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
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