A London bar wants to hire only 'extremely attractive' staff and we're really not impressed

When it comes to getting a job, you’d think the most important thing would be whether you can actually do the job you’re applying for. But no! Turns out for some jobs how attractive you are is equally as vital, especially if you’re female. *sighs*

Women have been getting a tough rap on the work front of late. Last year 27-year-old Nicola Thorp was sent home from work without pay for not wearing high heels to hear job at an accountancy firm.

The issue stretches beyond dress codes too – in December, a London hotel came under fire for issuing strict beauty regulations upon women such as having “regular manicures” and wearing “full make up.”

And now a job advert for a new London bar has sparked outrage for requesting only “extremely attractive” staff to apply.

The advert, uploaded to the Reed.co.uk employment site by a third party called House of Wax London was posting vacancies for £10-an-hour waiting jobs for a soon to be opened Shoreditch jazz bar.

“Physical attractiveness is unfortunately necessary for this role”, the advert states.

Oh and our old friend the high heel was also among the specifications. Along with a minimum of one year’s experience and a “fun, lively attitude”, the advert also specified that that female applicants “must be comfortable wearing black heels”.

Ironically, the advert was actually spotted by Nicola Thorp, who since her own workplace discrimination, has been campaigning tirelessly for a ban on ‘sexist’ dress codes.

The petition she created as a result of her experience was actually rejected by the Government in April of this year, but that hasn’t stopped the equal opportunities campaigner calling out equally sexist practices whenever she comes across them.

Sharing a screenshot of the advert she took to Twitter to vent her frustration and raise awareness about the ongoing issue.

“Hey @reedcouk, just checking you’re aware that this job ad is in breach of an Equality Act or two… #lovemondays? #doubtit,” she wrote.

“This post would look out of place even on a dating site, never mind an employment website,” Nicola told BuzzFeed News.

“I can’t believe that House of Wax had the audacity to post such an advert, but I’m even more disappointed that Reed allowed it to go live. How do they think prospective employees will feel about a job hunt after reading something like that?”

And social media was quick to agree.

“Remind me which century we are in,” one man wrote.

“This is ridiculous. How demeaning,” added another.

One woman wanted to know how you could gauge if you were good looking enough to apply. “How does one measure physical attractiveness?” she wrote.

Current employment law states companies must not state or imply that they will discriminate against an individual or group of people.

While there are laws preventing employers from requesting photographs from applicants applying for job roles, it is not always illegal – for example modelling agencies could legally ask to see a model’s portfolio.

But in this case we can’t quite fathom how your looks could influence your ability to carry out waiting staff duties?

Responding to the backlash about the ad, Reed.co.uk said the job had been removed and that the company had “contacted the recruiter to look into the issue further.”

A spokesperson said: “At reed.co.uk, we take our responsibilities as a recruitment advertising platform, used by thousands of jobseekers every day, extremely seriously.”

“As such, we have a number steps in place to ensure jobs advertised with us comply with all appropriate legislation, are non-discriminatory and, of course, genuine.”

“Clearly, in this instance, an advertiser has used inappropriate language in their posting and so details of the vacancy have been removed whilst we work with them to ensure they are made fully aware of relevant legislation affecting their recruitment.”

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