A woman’s job interview with Boots Opticians was not allowed to continue due to the applicant not being dressed conservatively enough. Rosie Reilly, 26, took to Twitter to report the incident and Boots is investigating the claims.
Reilly was wearing a collared, long sleeved blouse paired wit knee-length skirt and tights during an interview with Boots Opticians for the post of a full-time sales assistant. She sported a nose and ear piercing as well as a hairstyle that was shaved at the sides and curly at the top.
Hi @BootsUK. I wasn't allowed to continue with my interview today because I wasn't dressed "conservatively enough". I thought I looked nice! pic.twitter.com/dB8OerYQND
— Rosie (@rsiereilly) March 6, 2017
However, her style did not pass the interviewer’s standards who told Reilly that although her hair was nice, she was not dressed conservatively enough, writes The Sun. The news site added that Reilly had informed the panel beforehand of her style and she was only told to dress smart casual, which is what she did.
The interviewer offered to reschedule and continue the interview the following day to give Reilly the chance to be dressed in the appropriate wear. Reilly, however, refused it.
She said that she felt embarrassed about how she looked, reports The Sun. “When you’re unemployed you’re already not feeling 100 percent, then something like this can really knock your confidence.
A Boots Optician spokesperson gave a comment saying that they were disappointed with the candidate’s experience. Moreover, the incident will be investigated further, writes The Sun.
This is not the first time a woman in the UK has been denied a job due to how she looks or the way she dresses. Jobs & Hire previously reported a case wherein a woman was also denied a job because her hair was “unprofessional.” Read more about it here.
In the UK, The Telegraph (via Jobs & Hire) writes that 81 percent of UK managers have witnessed gender discrimination occur in the office.
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