£7,000 payout to Sikh denied Claridge’s work over ‘beard ban’
A SIKH job hunter who was denied work at Claridge’s because of a strict “no beards” policy has won £7,000 in compensation.
Bosses at Elements Personnel Services refused to offer work to Raman Sethi, who has a beard in keeping with his faith, over “grooming” standards issued by its five-star clients, an employment tribunal heard.
The employment agency had in the past received complaints from hotels, in- cluding an email from Claridge’s in 2018 that read: “No ponytails, no facial hair ... please ensure none of that here at Claridge’s.”
However, Judge Holly Stout found the hotels were not consulted by the agency over whether they would make an exception on religious grounds and awarded Mr Sethi £7,102.17 in compensation, including £5,000 for “injury to feelings”.
The agency provides staff for five-star hotels including Claridge’s, The Connaught, and The Dorchester.
Mr Sethi, 34, from New Zealand, was signed up after he attended a recruitment event run by Elements in November 2017, but he was later told that they could not keep him on their books because there “wouldn’t be enough shifts to give you” as hotel managers “won’t allow having facial hair due to health and safety/hygiene reasons”.
The email added: “I know it’s part of your religion, and we have tried to ... accommodate to allow you to get started with us, but unfortunately no facial hair is a part of the five-star standards.”
Mr Sethi was “deeply hurt” and took Elements to a tribunal, where one of the agency’s managers argued that the requirements of its five-star customers were “entirely outside of our control” and that clients would send staff home, instructing them to shave or they would not be given further shifts.
The judge was shown The Dorchester’s “male service staff ” policy, which stated: “Clean shaven, no moustaches and beards or facial hair allowed.” An email from The Connaught from 2017 complained that one person was “not shaved”, adding: “I do not believe we are still having these issues .... Please do not apologise. Just get it correct.”
Judge Stout accepted the agency felt pressure to apply a “no beards” policy but ruled it was discriminatory. She said: “The agency has not produced any evidence of their clients being asked about whether they would accept a Sikh working for them who could not shave for religious reasons.”
Judge Stout said Elements’ policy “places Sikhs generally, and it placed Mr Sethi himself, at a particular disadvantage because it is a fundamental tenet of the Sikh faith ... for a male to have an uncut beard.”
Mr Sethi has since found shifts at the five-star Savoy through a separate agency.
A spokesman for Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Berkeley said: “We have a number of full-time and agency staff with facial hair – both for religious and personal reasons. We also have a number of staff who wear hijabs, turbans and other religious clothing.”
A Dorchester spokesman said that while it had grooming standards in place, it did make exceptions for religious and medical reasons.