Posted on 06/19/2006 9:32:24 AM PDT by Millee
Rebecca Holdcroft likes to "express" herself through body art. However, she felt she was being discriminated against at work and contacted the BBC News website to express her point of view.
Even though she does not deal with the public face-to-face, her latest employers told her she must wear a cardigan to conceal her tattoos. And in the hot weather, this can get unbearable, she says.
Rebecca Holdcroft "It's not the first job where this has happened," says the 25-year-old temp, who had her first tattoo - Japanese blossom and ribbons on her back - at the age of 21.
At a previous workplace she was made to cover up and "on a hot day I passed out and cracked my head in a toilet cubicle".
After that incident, she says, she was given a desk fan, but this was taken away two days later for health and safety reasons.
"After all that, they allowed me to wear short sleeves at work," she said.
But for the last month Ms Holdcroft, from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, has been working for business outsourcer Vertex, dealing with applications for education benefits on behalf of Hertfordshire County Council.
Vertex says it believes it applied its dress code correctly, but has promised to review its policy in light of Ms Holdcroft's case.
All her dealings with the public are on the phone.
"I don't deal with the public, but I have to cover up in the office. I think it's kind of ridiculous," she said.
She says her tattoos are not sexually explicit, neither are they racist.
Rebecca Holdcroft In total she has 18, including one behind each ear, two "sleeves" covering each arm, and a pair of wings with a heart on her chest.
She says some tattoos were visible at her job interview, but it was not until her second day in the office that she was told they looked "unprofessional" and she should cover up.
"If I am sitting I can take my cardigan off, but if I am walking around the office I have to put it back on," she said.
She says it is discrimination - even though the Citizens Advice Bureau and a solicitor have both told her there is no law to protect her.
"There are other people in the office that have tattoos, but not to the same extent. They aren't being told to cover up.
"I can't afford not to have a job so at the moment I comply with what work are asking. Even so, I'm not the only one in the office who thinks it is ridiculous."
Rebecca Holdcroft "The point I am trying to make is it's not criminal to have tattoos."
While body art is now acceptable for public figures, such as David Beckham and Robbie Williams, in the office "it still seems to be a real problem", she says.
"It's just disappointing. It doesn't matter how well you work, what matters is what you look like," she said.
"Personally I don't think it should be a disciplinary issue. On a hot day I would like to feel comfortable.
"I want to feel I am not being judged on my appearance, but how well I am doing my job."
As to how members of the public themselves react, she says she once had a job in a shop and found, other than a few comments, she had no problems.
"It is just traditionally thought that people who have tattoos are either louts or criminals but that couldn't be further from the truth," she said.
"People who like tattoos aren't all criminals, they aren't all louts, they just like body art.
"I like body art, it's a way of expressing. It's always been around."
Rebecca Holdcroft She sees little difference between changing your appearance with tattoos and having plastic surgery, for example.
"It's just another way of changing the way you look. I always liked tattoos, and I had some blank skin, so I thought why not?"
A spokeswoman for Vertex said it would review their policy.
"We expect all our employees to dress appropriately at all times and have certain minimum dress standards which we apply," she said.
"Of course, our employees are given the flexibility to dress according to the seasons, as well as any personal circumstances, which may make the wearing of uniforms or certain clothing items uncomfortable or impractical.
"In this case we believe that we have applied our dress code correctly.
"Our employee did raise their concerns regarding our policy and, given the sensitivity around this particular issue, we have relaxed our policy to accommodate her specific needs. We will review our policy in light of this matter."
Men at our office must wear ties (even when not customer-facing) and women must wear hose and no sleeveless shirts, amongst rules about fabric type and so forth.
It is left up to the manager's discretion what other rules might be applied in specific circumstances, but the "professional dress" extends across our company, no matter whether you're a sales-person or just a computer geek in the basement.
Sorry, but you know what you sign up for when working in a professional environment.
Grandma, show us Big Bird!
Sorry, sweets, life just ain't fair. Most people are aware that extreme tattoos do not get you hired except at a "body art" shop (unless you're good enough to get into the NBA or the NFL). Stop whining and lose the tattoos or be stuck forever in crappy jobs!
I'd do er...
Kids do such crazy things to get attention and affection. She looks like a sweet kid - if she got rid of the nonsense.
Fortunately in a couple of years she'll be able to get that stuff removed. It won't be cheap though.
its not that hard to cover tats. i have 12. i was out a a fair saturday in a sleeveless shirt and shorts and had a couple people, who had only seen me at work, stop me and ask when i got all the tattoos.
Let's talk about farts, shall we?
Erm,
Day10 darlin',
Ya ain't desperate anymore,
'member?
Oh yeah......
LOLOL
Start your own vanity! ;op
Hey, is something wrong with that other site? I haven't been able to get it to come up for a few hours.
I think it's up now.
How did you know I was looking a photos of Catherine Zeta Jones?
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