íLooksismí Jobseekers face legal discrimination

Claims that clothes stores are employing unusually ìattractiveî store staff highlights how discrimination on looks is legal

The overweight, tattooed and unattractive are not protected by discrimination laws

But employers should beware of breaking disability discrimination if appearance of being overweight is due to illness

Claims that clothing stores such as Abercrombie and Fitch* are employing unusually ìattractiveî store staff highlights how recruiting on the basis of looks can still be legal, says Consult GEE, a leading provider of employment law and HR advisory services.

Consult GEE warns this existing discrimination laws offer few protections for the overweight, unattractive and many other job seekers with other particular attributes that do not fit the ìsocial normî.

Stuart Chamberlain, employment law expert at Consult GEE, says: ìToday, image is considered important in all walks of life, including the workplace, and in a job interview appearance is often vital, so when someone who is overweight applies for a job and goes for an interview they are facing an uphill battle.î

ìMany employers see being overweight as an example of lack of discipline and the law is not protecting perfectly capable people from progressing their careers. Employers could be missing out on the best talent because of their prejudicial attitudes.î

With no specific laws protecting the overweight from discrimination in the workplace, employers are free to turn them down for jobs. In the USA, this kind of discrimination is illegal in San Francisco, Washington DC and other cities.

Companies who discriminate against overweight job applicants should be careful, warns Stuart Chamberlain, as if an applicantís weight is due to an illness, such as metabolic syndrome, potential employers could be breaking disability discrimination laws by not taking them on because of their size.

Consult GEE points out that it is not only overweight job applicants who are facing discrimination. Many employers require their staff to have particular attributes for the type of work they carry out and are free to discriminate on that basis.

Other applicants employers can discriminate against include:

- Applicants with tattoos
- Unattractive applicants
- Applicants who dress a particular way
- The underweight

Stuart Chamberlain, however, explains: ìEmployers who discriminate on these grounds could inadvertently discriminate without intending to. If you insist on only employing attractive people, for example, there is a danger you are indirectly discriminating on an age basis. With the size zero debate seemingly focussed on underweight women, turning down an applicant for being too skinny could be sex discrimination.î

*Evening Standard April 2, Daily Mail April 7