Advertisement

A London bar only wants to hire "extremely attractive" staff

Photo credit: Imaxtree
Photo credit: Imaxtree

From Harpers Bazaar UK

Remember the high heel debacle? 27-year-old Nicola Thorp says she was laughed at when she told her bosses that she didn't want to wear high heels on her first day as a corporate receptionist.

"I was expected to do a nine-hour shift on my feet escorting clients to meeting rooms. I said I just won't be able to do that in heels," she told the BBC.

Thorp had arrived at the accountancy firm wearing flats and says she was told to go out and buy heels that were between two and four inches high, otherwise she could go home. Thorp refused and alleges Portico - the firm that runs PwC's reception at its office in central London - followed through with its threat.

Her campaign to call for a ban on "sexist" dress codes which forces women to wear high heels to work was rejected by the Government in April of this year.

Thankfully, though, it hasn't stopped her from calling out equally sexist practices in workplaces wherever she spots them.

Thorp noticed a job ad recruiting for only "extremely attractive" waiting staff at an east London bar and posted a screenshot to Twitter:

The advert, uploaded to the Reed.co.uk employment site by a third party called House of Wax London, states that "physical attractiveness is unfortunately necessary" for the £10-per-hour job, and that female waiting staff should wear black heels.

She wrote: "Hey @reedcouk, just checking you're aware that this job ad is in breach of an Equality Act or two… #lovemondays? #doubtit."

Under anti-discrimination guidelines, a recruiter cannot specify "attractive" as a pre-requisite and it therefore breaches the equality act.

"This post would look out of place even on a dating site, never mind an employment website," Thorp told BuzzFeed News.

"I can't believe that House of Wax had the audacity to post such an advert, but I'm even more disappointed that Reed allowed it to go live. How do they think prospective employees will feel about a job hunt after reading something like that?"

Reed.co.uk also told BuzzFeed News that the ad had been removed while they work "with [the recruiter] to ensure they are made fully aware of relevant legislation affecting their recruitment".

"We take our responsibilities extremely seriously," the spokesperson added.

You Might Also Like