Discrimination and Tattoos In the past, people used to see people with tattoos as lacking in character and work ethic. In light of the growing popularity of tattoos in the modern age, people’s opinions have stayed away from that. While the United Kingdom may not be as well known for heavily tattooed people as other countries in the world, the popularity in the United Kingdom is growing. Tattoos do not affect a person’s character or work ethic; therefore, should not be discriminated against in the United Kingdom. When most people see a person that is heavily tattooed, they do not see the typical hard working family man. They see an inked up delinquent or a drug addict. What they do not think about is that many people love to express …show more content…
In the United Kingdom, there are no laws protecting employees from employer discrimination on the sole basis of body art. During the hiring process, employers can have the most qualified applicant possible with tattoos, but under current United Kingdom law, they can hire a less qualified person who has no tattoos. This practice is completely legal without being considered a form of discrimination. Employers in the United Kingdom stigmatize tattooed applicants’ and/or employees’ work ethic, believing that they will not work as hard and send a negative image to their clients (Michael). This kind of discrimination is unjust and unethical. The only way a person can challenge this type of discrimination is if they are directly religious and even then, the employee would have to go through a strenuous process of actually proving it has direct religious ties. With the popularity of tattoos in the United Kingdom growing rapidly, many employers are being forced to cut back on their prejudicial opinions of tattoos. According to the BBC, roughly twenty percent of the United Kingdom’s population has at least one tattoo. Among young adults, the numbers rise to roughly thirty- three percent (Kelly). Some companies will tolerate tattoos with the exception of above the neck and hand tattoos, which are completely understandable in an interpersonal business that involves customer service. Still, the problem lies in the professions where employees do not make direct
Tattoos are common place in society today. No longer are they only on bikers or bad guys; now they are on doctors, lawyers and even pastors. Tattoos no longer determine a person’s character or who they are. They are a way of expressing oneself and showing experiences in a person’s life or expressions of meaningful things. Even older people are getting "ink" put on them. For as much as they are accepted in society, they are also still looked down upon. Having tattoos can affect being hired for a job and that can be looked upon as discrimination. Having tattoos does change a person’s possibility of getting hired for a job, although it should not.
Tattoos in today’s business society are a lot of times frowned upon for being unprofessional and not acceptable. Businesses assume if a possible future employee of theirs has tattoos or piercings they may not be as intelligent as one without tattoos. Society associates people with tattoos as bad people and they judge them based on how they look which is wrong. “In a study 31 percent of human resource managers said visible tattoos could have a negative impact on their decision whether to hire someone, but bad breath weighed even heavier in the survey. Employees with chewed fingernails and dark suntans were offered fewer promotions, the survey said.”(Burlington)
Tattoos have been around for quite some time now, and they have always been a symbol of belonging, cultural expression or for religion. These days, individuals choose to tattoo themselves because it is part of their lifestyle or personal image. While continuing to grow in popularity and becoming a lifestyle, people are facing issues with having visible tattoos in the workforce. Although it is a form of free expression, employers have a right to enforce certain rules about tattoos in their company because they have a public image to uphold. How you present yourself to the public is solely important, which is why tattoos should not be allowed to be seen in the workplace, since it may appear offensive or unconservative.
People who have tattoos or piercings should not be denied jobs. For an example, the persons tattoos or piercings may define their characteristics or personality. A person may have a tattoo sleeves that symbolizes a band, a family member or an object that they like. Piercings however can be all over a person’s body and they might like the placements of their piercings. At this point, discussions between the customers and employees on tattoos and piercings are being made. These discussions can range between “Why did the person decide to get a tattoo or piercing?” or “Does the employee really think they are going to qualify for the job because of those things?” According to Andrea Johnstone and Laurel Buskirk, editors of an article called “Tattoo, body piercings rules can lead to discrimination claim,” the reason why companies have policies that ban tattoos, piercings and other body modification is to maintain a dress code and other appearance requirements (29A). If tattoos define an employee’s characteristics or personality and can be used as a discussion topic between the employee and customers, then people who have tattoos
A large number of businesses do not allow tattoos that are visible. Many also prohibit piercings, other than single earrings on women. Some industries even take their policies to the extreme of not allowing any tattoos that take up more than 25% of a body part, and if a pre-existing tattoo is too large or obscene, it must be removed (Powers). This even applies if a uniform can easily cover the tattooed area.
Tattoos are becoming very popular amongst the people of my generation, but now they seem to be creating more buzz than ever when it comes to today’s job market. Jon Kelly and Rachel Hennessey wrote articles covering this topic presenting the views of employers and their policies against tattoos. In both articles, they discuss how employers frown upon the art of employees inking. The biggest reason is because, some employers feel that tattoos deliver an unprofessional look to the customer and that can ruin the image built and portrayed by their prosperous companies.
“The nicest people I have ever met are covered in tattoos, while the most judgment people that I have met are the once who don’t have tattoos” (Earl Dibbles). When someone sees a person with a bunch of tattoos, maybe the first thing that comes to their mind is Thug, stupid, thief, or maybe even crazy. Judging a person off of first feeling with tattoos can lead to false allegation and potentially hurt a person’s feelings. Tattoos have existed since the beginning of civilization and although widespread now, there are still misconceptions about them. I have come across many people with tattoos, especially my friend which is MMA fighter; his name is Nasratullah Akhunzada. He has a bunch of tattoos on his body. First of all, he loses his job cause of his tattoos
Rachel Hennessey, her article, Tattoos: no longer a kiss of death in the workplace, tattoos have become accepted with employers, tattoos do not affect the performance or some very skilled employees. A lot of companies
However, people should not be denied a career because of the art they have on their bodies. Just because an individual has tattoos does not mean they are unprofessional or unworthy of a high-paying job. Colleges do not deny people an education because they have tattoos. If a person with tattoos has a higher education and a better background than someone without tattoos who is going for the same job, then the person with tattoos should get the job. But due to the nature of businesses, the person with less experience would most likely be the candidate picked based on appearance. In the workplace, when people look at someone that is covered in tattoos they automatically discriminate against this person. It is almost as if they think that image determines their demeanor and professionalism. This person can be the most courteous and professional person in the world, but no one would ever know because this person was not given a chance due to their appearance and the judgment of others.
The tattoo is a very old form of body modification, but in spite of that there is still a certain rejection towards those who carry them in a visible area of the body, for some it disfigures what has been created in the image and likeness of God while for others associates this with convicts or gang members mainly because they were one of the first groups to use tattoos to differentiate themselves from the rest of society. But also it is true that there is a very limited understanding about this corporal modification that could be one of the reasons why it can not be appreciated as for how it should be. However, modern society reflects the current popularity of tattooing because it has acquired an entirely artistic meaning to a social expression and a way of identity.
Introduction: Is there anyone here that does not like tattoos or likes them, but would never think of getting one? Today, tattoos are a growing in popularity when before tattoos were only seen on people in a circus as an act or on military veterans who wanted to display their troop proudly. Even though there is this growing popularity of tattoos, entry-level jobs require strict dress code policies disapproving the sight of tattoos while at work.
People argue that tattoos should never be shown in a professional setting. Most places of employment even have a dress code that requires you to cover them while working. Employers, in some settings, say that tattoos would or could be offensive or obscene. It was hard to find any article that was against tattoos in the workplace. After a while of searching the internet and databases, I found an article titled “Tattoos in the Workplace: The Research Forbes Was Too Lazy To Do” by Annie Singer. Written on February 26, 2016 and updated February 26, 2017, Singer’s research found that “consumers showed a preference for non-tattooed front-line staff.” She also found that “visible tattoos had a predominantly negative effect on employment selection, driven by the hiring manager’s
The art of tattoos has been prevalent in many ancient cultures and represented many different things. In the more recent past times, tattoos were seen in a very negative light; mainly associated with circus freak shows, bikers or outlaws. Even though there are more Americans getting tattoos these days, there is still a disapproving view on tattoos in the workplace. Tattoos are continuously becoming more popular with each generation and more often have some personal meaning. Many companies that have recently started to accept appropriate body art in the workplace have seen positive benefits related to their new policy changes. This debate has also led people to file discrimination lawsuits against their employer. There are occasions that the subject matter or the placement of a tattoo on the body may not be professional for certain types of jobs. With the growing number of people that have body art, the more personal meaning behind it and younger demographics of both people working for and being served by many companies these days, having visible tattoos should no longer be damaging among many careers today. The debate needs to be evaluated by each company, and often each individual situation, to determine if body art can be accepted.
This paper focuses on the subject of whether or not tattoos and piercings should be allowed in the workplace. There are a lot of resources arguing that they should not be allowed, but this research maintains the point that they should be more accepted in the workplace these days. This paper concludes by discussing how tattoos and piercings are much more of an artistic expression rather than a form of rebellion as it was once considered.
There are many employers that have the opinion that having visible tattoos is unacceptable for the professional work environment. Someone with a tattoo is seen as uneducated and possible dangerous. However, there is no solid evidence to support either of those beliefs. The stigma of sporting a visible tattoo has no validity. A person with tattoos is just as knowledgeable and capable of working as a non-tattooed person. Tattoos, whether visible or covered, do not change a person’s individual work ethic or how educated they are.