Recruitment Ad Asking for Good Looking Candidates Draws Flak
March 4th, 2010 March 4th, 2010 Posted in Commerce, Doing Business, Legal Issues Info, Life Of HealthComments Off
A fashion retailer has been criticized after placing an advertisement for a job that required staff members who were ‘cool and good-looking’, in the words of the company. The company, Abercrombie & Fitch, is a renowned retail clothing firm that is based in
The company has started a controversy by putting out a poster that announces career opportunities to represent their brands for people who are cool and good-looking. It has also been stated that suitable applicants for the position were given the chance to appear for interviews on the basis of their physical appearance and they were approached in the street for this purpose.
Richard Baker, who is the North East Labour MSP, asked for the advertisement to be removed and stated that it is quite evident that this could be perceived as a sign of discrimination.
Abercrombie & Fitch were instructed to pay almost ₤9,000 to 22-year-old Riam Dean in the recent past; following claims that she had been harassed and pushed into quitting her job as she had a prosthetic arm. A tribunal released the verdict that this was grossly unfair and that the employee had been forced to quit on wrong grounds and had also been harassed.
Workplace Law was informed by Nia Cooper who represents noted employment law specialists, Capital Law, that a lot of retailers have altered their recruitment practices to see to it that they do not break any laws related to discrimination legislation.
She further stated that Abercrombie & Fitch could have made certain adjustments with their advertisement to make it less offensive. By replacing the word ‘cool’ which is identified with youth with the word ‘friendly’ and completely erasing the word ‘good-looking’ which could be viewed as a way of keeping out some people, the company could have effectively addressed the issue. An additional line could have been included to establish the fact that applicants from different backgrounds were also acceptable.
An official from Abercrombie and Fitch informed the Press and Journal that the company has an effective anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy. He also reiterated that the company is intent on securing a varied workplace and is committed to the task of offering similar employment opportunities to every person. In their defence, they stated that they were looking for candidates with pleasing demeanour and a good sense of fashion in order to represent their brand name and to advertise their clothes.
For anyone involved in human resources management, training and development, the Chartered Institute of Professional Development is the body to refer to. Make sure your organisation is up to date with employment relations developments with CIPD courses run by the trainers and consultants at Workplace Law, who have practical experience in the workplace, as well as sound legal knowledge to successfully help employers to set their own organisation’s policies and procedures in context and to understand how to implement best practice in recruitment and selection.