‘Good Looking’ Staff Advertisement Sparks Controversy
March 4th, 2010
A fashion retailer had to bear the brunt of criticism after its job advertisement was published with vacancies for ‘cool and good-looking’ staff, in the words of the company.
Abercrombie & Fitch, the company, which put out the advertisement, is the retail clothing firm based in
It has also been stated that candidates who were considered suitable for the job were met in the street and were presented with interview offers on the basis of their appearance.
Richard Baker, a North East Labour MSP has disapproved of this advertisement and has asked for it to be removed at the earliest. Baker feels that such an advertisement is quite visibly an instance of discrimination.
In the recent past, Abercrombie & Fitch was directed to pay almost £10,000 to 22-year-old Riam Dean following her claims that she was made to leave her job there after harassment as she had a prosthetic arm. A tribunal decided that she had been harassed wrongfully and prompted to quit by undesirable ad unacceptable methods like bullying.
Nia Cooper of established employment law specialists, Capital Law, informed Workplace Law that many retailers have reworked their recruitment norms to ensure that they do not break any laws related with discrimination legislation. She also said that Abercrombie & Fitch could have re-written the advertisement to make it less offensive. Simple changes like changing the word ‘cool’, which is linked with youth, to the word ‘friendly’, and by removing the word ‘good-looking’, which could be read as counting out some sectors of the society would have sufficed, she said. In addition, they could have included a one line confirmation that applications from all sections of society are welcome.
Abercrombie and Fitch’s spokesperson, said to the Press and Journal in the company’s defence, that it has a comprehensive anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy. He said that the company is pledged to the task of ensuring a varied workforce and to giving parallel opportunities for work to all the people.
In this particular instance, the company’s requirement was deemed justified on the basis that the need is for people with a sense of fun who can create a good impression and an awareness of style. These candidates would be required to represent the brand and to advertise the clothes, he said.
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.











