Monday 4 July 2011

Driven out for not wearing make-up, says Harrods sale assistant

Melanie Stark, 24, has resigned from her position as sales assistant in the HMV section of London’s Harrods department store after her managers told her she had to wear makeup if she wanted to continue to work there.

Miss Stark, who scored 94% in a mystery shop, which is an undercover assessment by management to see how staff perform, said she was “exhausted, stressed and upset” by her on-going battle with the famous store.

Harrods has a strict uniform policy for both men and women. The section for “ladies” calls for “timeless, sophisticated elegance”. The section on make-up says: "Full makeup at all time: base, blusher, full eyes (not too heavy), lipstick, lip liner and gloss are worn at all time and maintained discreetly (please take into account the store display lighting which has a 'washing out' effect)."

Miss Stark had worked for Harrods for five years, three of which were part time while she completed her philosophy, religion and ethic degree at King’s College London. She was handed a copy of the dress code along with her contract, but she did not wear make-up to work and she was not challenged on this until August 2010.

A senior manager who was conducting a floor walk sent her home after she refused to put on make-up at work. The next day she was told to work in the stock room and was kept out of sight.

Miss Stark was offered a make-up consultation to ‘see what you look like with makeup'.

In a letter to Harrods at the time, Miss Stark said: "To be told that one's face is inadequate is extremely degrading."

She said: "I was appalled. It was insulting. Basically, it was implying it would be an improvement. I don't understand how they think it is OK to say that."

The matter appeared to settle down with no further issue being made until three weeks ago when a new floor manager said: “Girls. I want you to be made up.” She was briefly sent to the Bayswater HMV store while Harrods thought of a solution but Miss Stark had already decided to resign rather than go through the same treatment again.

She said: "Make up can change your features completely, especially if I was to wear all of what they were asking. I would look like a different person to me. And I never chose to look like that."

A legal expert with Equal Justice solicitors, Lawrence Davies, said that she may have a claim under the Equalities Act 2010: "On the facts, she performed her role well for five years without makeup, so it is clearly not a valid prerequisite for her role."

Another solicitor, Clare Murray from the law firm CM Murray, said she may have grounds to sue the department store in an employment tribunal for sex discrimination.

If you’ve been in a similar situation to Miss Stark and want some legal advice about your position, get in touch with Job Justice today. We can assess your situation and recommend a local employment solicitor who is right for you.

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