4000 award for hurt feelings over headscarf.......do you care what your hairdresser does with her hair or her beliefs?

[zippitippitoes]

..............struck me as an odd story this

here

What a load of tosh

what's the problem with her wearing a headscarf as a hairdresser? I'd be happy for her to do my hair with her wearing a headscarf as it's her choice what she wears.

I am very about that story, as the DM seem to be saying one thing (a Sikh constable applied for the job in the special terrorism bit and was turned down because of the concerns over H&S with his turban) and the West Midlands Constabulary seem to be saying another (no Sikh officer has applied and been turned down, but we have identified that there could be a problem)

I don't see the problem tbh. If a Sikh police officer wants to work in the counter terrorism section of the police force but doesn't want to wear a turban then why not let them not wear a helmet? Aren't Sikhs exempt from wearing motorcycle helmets etc?

Also, the article loses my interest as soon as i read the words "Health and safety gone mad".

I went off to have my 'colours' done a few years ago. The bird who was doing me looked bleedin' shocking. Never, in the history of blue clothing, has a top looked so wrong on someone and yet, here was me, handing over fifty quid for her advice

I am resolut;ly not stylish or fashionable in any way. I never wear make up.

should I go for a job at the Clarens counter and sue them if I don't get the job because I don't fit the immage the want in their sales people?

My straight, male friend was turned down for a job at Claire's Accessories as they didn't think he'd fit in with the company image.

My dh was turned down for a job at a trendy PR company for the same reasons - essentially they were saying he wasn't fashionable enough.

I feel a lawsuit coming on...

Actually I really don;t have a problme with the met "blowing" (no judgement there then DM) £100,000 on getting a sikh officer to investigate equipment suitable for use with a turban. If we need more non-white police then this kind of thing needs to be done.

I would be cynical if he were off stress as a result though I rarely beleive what the papers say anymore.

There is an article in the Guardian about some people I know, who I know for a fact havent been interviewed for the article - journalist just read the article they'd done for another paper .

Have no idea what the religion of my hairdressers are but would be slightly put off if they covered their hair. Haior cutting isn't just a mechanical skill - its artistry (snorts at own pretentiousness).

Didn;t know you could sue hairdressers for hurt feelings though - I could have made a fortune over the years... ("Who cut this for you", "Oh your hair is so natural isn;t it, most people cover their grey now" etc etc)

Bet they spend more than £100,000 on biscuits every year.

hairdressers often have rather odd haircuts I find
and peculiar bleached bits
they never actually look the way I want to end up looking when I leave the hairdressers
maybe this is why I hardly ever get my hair cut...

sorry that has nothing to do with headscarves, does it?

but the hairdressers hair doesn't influence me - it's their manner & if they do a good job. When I don't know the hairdresser I don't have a big change but when I'm going to do something different I go to a hairdresser who knows me.

lol oggs frogs

its fair enough to want to see hair on hairdresser, its kinda how you assess them

My understanding is that the salon owner lost the case because she failed to show that the business would have suffered if she had employed someone with a headscarf. I don't think it would have been difficult to find evidence of this but she failed to do so and the tribunal had no alternative to find against the salon owner.

I am not sure if the salon owner was legally represented but if she was, then I am stunned that her representative did not tell her exactly what would be required to win the case and ensure that they had this information for the tribunal.

4K is some very hurt feelings - but I couldn't care less about seeing my hairdressers hair - have had enough with shockingly bad dye jobs in the past!

Kewcumber, the hairdresser was taken to an employment tribunal for discrimination on grounds of religious belief. If an employee/former employee/potentional employee wins such a claim, one of the headings that the tribunal makes an award is for 'injury to feelings'.

The hairdressers where I go have hairstyles I wouldn't contemplate!! I assess them by the how the salon looks & that they're nice! If one had a headscarf it wouldn't faze me - so many people have headscaves so it's usual

I was joking, sis.

The issue for me isn't the headscarf - like you Cups i couldn't give a flying f whether someone wears a headscarf or a turban or whatever - but for the woman to then sue over not getting a job is not helpful when it comes to things like religious integration and it gives papers like the Torygraph and Daily Hate Mail more ammunition!

I think the salon owner was massively misrepresented, maybe she could sue her legal team?

suburban - if she wasn't employed because of her religon then this is discrimination.

But she wasn't not employed because of her religion. She wasn't employed because the salon owner felt that the headscarf would be detrimental to her business. Now - as i say - I couldn't give a damn what my hairdresser wears, but I'm not a salon owner. I do, however, work in optics, and I would think it a bit odd if someone who was dispensing specs wore horrible glasses themselves!

but she wears her headscarf for relgious reasons?

I think it is really important to see what Style the salon has, so you can see it is a funky salon or a blue rinse place..
However I don't believe that showing your hair style is the only answer.

I don't think she should have said that she wasn't comfortable having the lady around. That is nothing to do with the having hair on display thing.. that is just unpleasant.

I don't think £4000 is the correct solution, an apology and perhaps some education about other cultures would be a good thing.

Yes...so it's a choice isn't it? Unlike wearing glasses.

I don't think she was discriminated against. I think she wasn't suitable for the job because of her religion. You wouldn't expect a vegetarian Hindu to work in an abbatoir, would you?

lol suburban

I think it's not right & if she's a good hairdresser why not employ her. It's all the customers want. What about a hairdresser with a crew cut doing women's hair!!! happens & no one minds! I'd be happy for her to do my hair.

(what about wearing contacts when selling glasses).

It wouldn't bother me if my hairdresser wore a head scarf.

My last hairdresser had a slightly dodgy haircut, now that bothered me. She still did a good job with my hair though.

Employers should be able to employ, or not employ, whoever they like and for whatever reason. Your business, your choice.