Toronto Man told he'd have to shave 50-year-old beard if he wanted job
A Toronto man says his human rights were violated when he was told by UPS Canada that he needed to be clean shaven if he wanted a seasonal job at the company. Allan Stokell, 68, told the Toronto Star that he’s proud of his beard — and isn’t that interested in shaving it.
“Although not as serious as some (violations), I don’t believe large multi-national corporations should be able to get away with this,” Stokell said in the Star interview. “I’ve had a beard since I was 18 and I identify as being a bearded person.”
Stokell applied for a seasonal walker position at UPS Canada, someone who delivers and picks up packages. In a questionnaire, he was asked whether he accepted the company’s strict appearance guidelines, which in part requires employees to hide visible piercings, tattoos, and to be clean shaven. The retired City of Toronto worker responded honestly, that he had short hair and a well-trimmed beard.
In an email response, a UPS Canada rep told him that all employees need to be clean shaven at UPS as part of the company’s appearance policy, “unless one is keeping their facial hair for religious or medical reasons.” The policy complies with the Ontario Human Rights Commission guidelines .
A rep from UPS Canada told the Toronto Star that the company is confident in the legality of its employment practices. They have appearance and grooming guidelines in place and that the policy is explained to all applicants during the interview process.
As for Stokell, he hasn’t heard anything further from UPS Canada, but he told the Star that he isn’t interested in working for them at this point.
“Work has got to be a welcoming environment…if I’m going to force them to employ me because of a labour standard it’s not going to be a good working relationship,” he said. “They (should) change the policy so that other people don’t have to go through this.”
If interested, check out Stokell’s beard here.
Is this beard discrimination or a simple request to comply with a company’s appearance policy? Let us know what you think by tweeting @YahooStyleCA!
