Why is this allowed

[bazwillrun]

Read the last line, the most pertinent

http://www.bbc.co.uk/...h-west-wales-18811644

so if he was a muslim with the usual unkempt birds nest hanging off his chin he would be in with a chance would he ?

Absolutely disgraceful

[joggerjayne]

beards >>>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOCAvxLByi8

[Ric.ror]

What on earth are you on about!
Beckham looks great with his little beard (not posh but facial hair)
I even thought Jonathan Ross looked good when he had one of those little Chevailer beards

[ludwig]

I see the confusion here. It's a simple misunderstanding.
He's applied for a job where they don't want to employ people with beards.

He needs to either apply for a job where they don't mind you having a beard, or shave his beard.

[bazwillrun]

But if he was lets say a muslim then according to the companys rules he would be ok to have a beard.

[Ric.ror]

Why doesnt he just say he has the beard for 'cultural reasons' I do it all the time when I say I dont eat chicken but eat beef - no one ever questions me then

[humbersloop]

I quite like zz top, but what sort of car washing company employs people with beards??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXXmeP9TvBg

[ludwig]

// But if he was lets say a muslim then according to the companys rules he would be ok to have a beard. //

Yes, you're right - I hadn't notice this bit right at the bottom.

// except in circumstances where they have a religious meaning or a medical reason. //

In that case it's clearly unfair.

[FredPuli43]

Strangely baz, a person who found that a Sikh with a beard was employed when he, himself beardless, was not, might have a case under the Equality Act 2010. (And I bet someone somewhere tries that! It should fail, but what the heck if it pays a lawyer!)

The Company here says that they grant an exception for those wearing beards for religious reasons; an attempt to stay within the law; but they are being too cautious. They would not be discriminating unlawfully in always refusing to employ anyone who is bearded, and the fact that the person is bearded because of his religion is therefore immaterial.

[Kromovaracun]

It's all very well to demonstrate that the employer has the right to discriminate against bearded people if they want to, but I think that's rather a weak stopping point.

Why shouldn't we consider *why* this ridiculous regulation exists in the first place? Why should employers like this company be able to dictate the facial hair requirements of its prospective employees? Personally I find it rather silly.

[Kromovaracun]

And personally from an employer's perspective I don't really see how a religious requirement for facial hair is more pressing than said candidate happening to be comfortable/aesthetically pleased by his beard.

[jno]

their house, their rules, Kromovaracun. If you don't want to wear a cotton tail, you can't be a Playboy bunny. Given that people can shave their beards if they really want the job, I think this is an area where the government can usefully keep its distance rather than setting down the Beards (Wearing Of) Regulations 2012. Ditto for house rules about staff uniforms, visible piercings and so on.

[craft1948]

If it was a nice, clean, silky soft beard, he could wash my car anytime.

[emmie]

surely the point of this is that it appears one rule for one, and one rule for another.

[Kromovaracun]

"their house, their rules, Kromovaracun."

I understand that's the case legally speaking, and it's not really what I was attacking. I dislike the idea that just saying 'they can do that if they want' is the stopping point for discussion - while accepting that they can set down the rules as they wish, why shouldn't this news story prompt us to question why this company has set down the rules that they have?

[ludwig]

// why shouldn't this news story prompt us to question why this company has set down the rules that they have? //

It did. I thought about it for a while, and then decided it wasn't really any of my business as it's their company and they can set whatever rules they like as long as they don't break the law. Plus, I don't really care anyway.

Look, they're not discriminating against the disabled, men, women, different races or sexuality or any physical aspect of a person that isn't just a fashion preference they can easily change.

The one thing about it I object to is that it's unfairly applied. It's obviously ok for some people to have beards but not others, and that's wrong in my opinion.

[askyourgran]

I think he looks fine, some people suit a beard. I reckon it's their loss, his job qualifications couldn't be more impressive.

[jno]

FredPuli's argued above that it isn't unfairly applied - or rather, that we can't claim this because we have no idea how it's applied. We don't know if they've employed any bearded men.

His argument is that legally they are perfectly entitled to say "no beards", full stop. The "except for Muslims and sick people" is a nod to the law but is actually unnecessary. If they do have bearded employees, it's unfair - but until we know they do, we have no grounds for saying so.

Kromovaracun, we can question their reason for setting their rules; but to what end? We're not going to get any answers beyond what the company spokesman says in the article linked to: that they don't think beards look nice.

[ludwig]

// If they do have bearded employees, it's unfair - but until we know they do, we have no grounds for saying so. //

What we do know is that they're claiming that they are quite willing to apply it unfairly (whether they actually have done so yet or not). This may be a lie of course for reasons of political correctness. I hope it is.

[jno]

my guess is that, with a Daily Mail reporter on his case, he thought he had to say that to avoid being arrested. In other words, he's saying that they're willing to observe the law rather than that they're willing to be unfair; a very proper thing to say, though unnecessary if FredPuli is correct.

[ludwig]

Anyway, the guy obviously doesn't need the job that badly is he's choosing the beard over it.

As an aside, Walt Disney famously hated facial hair and refused to employ anyone with it - despite having a silly little moustache himself.
Does anyone know if that's still true of the Disney organisation?