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Piercings at work

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    #32
    selastich2
    Registered Users Posts: 419 ✭✭selastich2


    pixiestix11 wrote: »
    ...furthermore it's not really anyones place tocl comment on anyone elses.appearance.

    It most certainly can be, especially when in a customer facing role. What gave you that idea?


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    #33
    Emmadilema123
    Closed Accounts Posts: 886 ✭✭✭Emmadilema123


    Grab All Association wrote: »
    She's 123 years old now

    123 and a quarter :-P


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    #34
    rawn
    Registered Users Posts: 3,093 ✭✭✭rawn


    selastich2 wrote:
    It most certainly can be, especially when in a customer facing role. What gave you that idea?


    I would think that if an employer did not want facial piercings on any of their staff then they would say so in their dress code.


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    #35
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭✭ [Deleted User]


    rawn wrote: »
    I would think that if an employer did not want facial piercings on any of their staff then they would say so in their dress code.

    Telling the employee directly would also count would it not?


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    #36
    selastich2
    Registered Users Posts: 419 ✭✭selastich2


    staff sitting there, unconsciously playing with things in their nose is appealing to no one.


    Backroom work or a big blue plaster over it would be the choices I'd be giving you as a manager if you refuse to remove it.


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    #37
    Emmadilema123
    Closed Accounts Posts: 886 ✭✭✭Emmadilema123


    I remember a girl in work got pulled aside because her skirt was too short even though she had leggings on under it. I was thinking why don't they go after the girl at the next pod with the leggings minus the skirt because I can actually see her vagina. Issues can arise outside what is stipulated in the dress code and sometimes in work you just have to do what your told whether you like it or not!


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    #38
    pixiestix11
    Registered Users Posts: 10 ✭pixiestix11


    [Deleted User] wrote: »
    I daresay if your employer had asked you not to wear the piercing and you continue to do so then they have every right to comment on it.

    He's asked you not to wear it, joked about removing it and yet you continue to do so. Where do you honestly see this going. Only going to end one way methinks.

    Im.going to continue to wear it.because changing it is bloody painful and could cause irritation which may lead to raised scarring etc . Besides that it have not signed anything which would suggest piercings are not allowed.if they did not want employees to wear piercings they should have specified in my terms of employment,im.not going to risk my piercing ,which I paid money for , closing up or scarring up badly just because he personally doesn't like it.


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    #39
    rawn
    Registered Users Posts: 3,093 ✭✭✭rawn


    Deleted User wrote:
    Telling the employee directly would also count would it not?


    He's telling the employee that he personally doesn't like it, not the company.


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    #40
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭✭ [Deleted User]


    rawn wrote: »
    He's telling the employee that he personally doesn't like it, not the company.

    It's a senior manager in the company, I'd be paying attention to repeated requests to remove it if I wanted to keep my job.
    Would you say the same about facial tattoo for example, there's nothing in the contract about that either.
    We all have opinions and could go back and forth all day, so I'll leave it at this.

    Op, your choice is your choice, I'd have no issues with piercings myself, have some large tattoos myself that I keep covered in work situations where it's not professional to have them on display. Just think about whether youre willing to risk your job over taking this stand.

    Best of luck however you proceed.


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    #41
    uck51js9zml2yt
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,268 ✭✭✭✭uck51js9zml2yt


    njjj wrote: »
    Whatever gave you the opinion that she works in the retail sector?

    First line of the OP is a giveaway :)


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    #42
    davo10
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,926 ✭✭✭davo10


    pixiestix11 wrote: »
    Im.going to continue to wear it.because changing it is bloody painful and could cause irritation which may lead to raised scarring etc . Besides that it have not signed anything which would suggest piercings are not allowed.if they did not want employees to wear piercings they should have specified in my terms of employment,im.not going to risk my piercing ,which I paid money for , closing up or scarring up badly just because he personally doesn't like it.

    You will be job hunting soon, probably best to take it out before going to interviews.


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    #43
    bluestrattos
    Registered Users Posts: 564 ✭✭✭bluestrattos


    pixiestix11 wrote: »
    Im.going to continue to wear it.because changing it is bloody painful and could cause irritation which may lead to raised scarring etc . Besides that it have not signed anything which would suggest piercings are not allowed.if they did not want employees to wear piercings they should have specified in my terms of employment,im.not going to risk my piercing ,which I paid money for , closing up or scarring up badly just because he personally doesn't like it.

    Employment contracts don't have dozens of pages for no reason.

    An employment contract starts with basic standard rules based in the legislation. Everything else is added due to lack of common sense.
    Is like that stupid signs and labels, that reads "don't put toddlers in the washing machine"! The manufacturer thought that common sense would prevail, guess what, it didn't.
    Same thing goes with your terms of employment, may not be there now, but soon enough it will be added and HR will notify everyone.

    This company used to have a casual Friday policy. Guess what? One day someone went too casual. Outcome? Management and HR notification, another bullet point in the terms of employment about attire, and no more casual Fridays. Recently that changed, and the company decided to give it another ago.

    Not saying you can't have a piercing but don't be surprised if you're moved to a different position, and everyone will have an updated terms of employment where the company will make recommendation regarding piercing or tattoos for that matter.


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    #44
    pixiestix11
    Registered Users Posts: 10 ✭pixiestix11


    [Deleted User] wrote: »
    It's a senior manager in the company, I'd be paying attention to repeated requests to remove it if I wanted to keep my job.
    Would you say the same about facial tattoo for example, there's nothing in the contract about that either.
    We all have opinions and could go back and forth all day, so I'll leave it at this.

    Op, your choice is your choice, I'd have no issues with piercings myself, have some large tattoos myself that I keep covered in work situations where it's not professional to have them on display. Just think about whether youre willing to risk your job over taking this stand.

    Best of luck however you proceed.


    I appreciate your post,but I'm leaving in two months anyway.,I'm covering 3 people's holidays and working 6 day weeks. My main manager isnt around for the next few weeks and he doesnt mind it . They usually take over a month to find new staff so really and truely they dont have the time or resources to fire me . I will probably switch it when I need to ,for instance whenever the other manager is working. Just not every day .


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    #45
    pixiestix11
    Registered Users Posts: 10 ✭pixiestix11


    bluestrattos wrote: »
    Employment contracts don't have dozens of pages for no reason.

    An employment contract starts with basic standard rules based in the legislation. Everything else is added due to lack of common sense.
    Is like that stupid signs and labels, that reads "don't put toddlers in the washing machine"! The manufacturer thought that common sense would prevail, guess what, it didn't.
    Same thing goes with your terms of employment, may not be there now, but soon enough it will be added and HR will notify everyone.

    This company used to have a casual Friday policy. Guess what? One day someone went too casual. Outcome? Management and HR notification, another bullet point in the terms of employment about attire, and no more casual Fridays. Recently that changed, and the company decided to give it another ago.

    Not saying you can't have a piercing but don't be surprised if you're moved to a different position, and everyone will have an updated terms of employment where the company will make recommendation regarding piercing or tattoos for that matter.

    My contract was a single page , really small company and generally easy going too. Doubt im the first person to have a piercing there and I really doubt ill be the last.,the wrong person just happened to see it


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    #46
    somefeen
    Registered Users Posts: 1,657 ✭✭✭somefeen


    Don't take it out.

    And if anyone has any problems tell them its the 21st century, people have nose studs.

    Cannot stand the arrogance of employers thinking they can dictate what you do with your body for no good reason. You are employed to do a job. How you look shouldn't come into it.


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    #47
    davo10
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,926 ✭✭✭davo10


    somefeen wrote: »
    Don't take it out.

    And if anyone has any problems tell them its the 21st century, people have nose studs.

    Cannot stand the arrogance of employers thinking they can dictate what you do with your body for no good reason. You are employed to do a job. How you look shouldn't come into it.

    How you look shouldn't come into it?

    You call it arrogance, others call it presenting a certain image for your business, and as long as the employer pays the wages and doesn't discriminate, then your choice is clear, conform to that image or look for a job which allows you to look whatever way you want.


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    #48
    Emmadilema123
    Closed Accounts Posts: 886 ✭✭✭Emmadilema123


    I imagine the people here who encourage someone to take a stand and risk their job for something as trivial as a piercing aren't people who have families to support.

    I wonder OP claim SW if job is lost. Will they tell SW the real reason why they have lost their job when asked?

    I'm not 123 I must admit but I reckon it's a pretty juvenile thing to do to risk your job for piercing imo. It's not sending a great message to your boss either.

    When somebody gives you a job, they are giving you an opportunity over others and it shouldn't be taken for granted.

    And just FYI I am not anti piercing/body mod. I had holes punched all over myself as a teen.


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    #49
    somefeen
    Registered Users Posts: 1,657 ✭✭✭somefeen


    davo10 wrote: »
    How you look shouldn't come into it?

    You call it arrogance, others call it presenting a certain image for your business, and as long as the employer pays the wages and doesn't discriminate, then your choice is clear, conform to that image or look for a job which allows you to look whatever way you want.

    So in other words. These people pay you money and you should bow down to petty demands?

    I have no doubt the OP or anyone else if faced with the choice of the peircing or the job would chose the job. But the fact that it can even be an issue is disgusting to me. They know work is hard to come by so they can push people like this.

    Presenting a certain image should involve no more than wearing the uniform and not stinking of BO.
    If they don't want people with nose studs doing the job then how much further is this going behind closed doors? We dont want people with certain accents, we dont want people with disfigurerments. All to present the right image.
    It really really pisses me off. Unless there is a genuine H&S reason for it then they should get a grip


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    #50
    uck51js9zml2yt
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,268 ✭✭✭✭uck51js9zml2yt


    Piercing can be seen as a hygiene or snagging risk, as can long sleeves/ loose clothing and as a result banned.
    I hope you don't need a reference from this manager.


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    #51
    Mrs OBumble
    Registered Users Posts: 25,970 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    somefeen wrote: »
    Cannot stand the arrogance of employers thinking they can dictate what you do with your body for no good reason. You are employed to do a job. How you look shouldn't come into it.

    The OP is working in retail.

    Unless it's some kind of specialist retail where a grunge look is an advantage, then anything out of the ordinary is not likely to be well received.

    If you want a job where how you look doesn't matter, then choose one that's not in-person customer facing. Where you are face-to-face with customers, then how you look 100% does matter. And yes, that sometimes means having and maintaining a beautiful face, shapely figure etc.


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    #52
    soups05
    Registered Users Posts: 1,086 ✭✭✭soups05


    Mrs OBumble wrote: »
    The OP is working in retail.

    Where you are face-to-face with customers, then how you look 100% does matter. And yes, that sometimes means having and maintaining a beautiful face, shapely figure etc.

    sweet jebus, what kinda retails places do you go into? the amount of hatchet faced, sour , overweight people who have served me in retail is too high to count.

    OP don't worry about those who claim you will lose your job, if you did then it's not a job worth having. I have spent 20 years working in shops and most customers would not notice a piecing unless there was a discount swinging from it.

    nose ,ear and eyebrow piercings are fairly commonplace these days and should not proke the shock/horror reaction of the 80s/90s. tell the manager to drop it or face a formal complaint from you about his behaviour.


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    #53
    childsplay
    Registered Users Posts: 169 ✭✭childsplay


    somefeen wrote: »
    So in other words. These people pay you money and you should bow down to petty demands?

    Pretty much so. He who holds the fiddle calls the tune!

    It comes down to a matter of image and how employers what their business to be seen. It's their call for that reason. A nose ring might seem like a small thing but if they are allowed then where do employers draw the line?

    Irish consumers are very conservative and would be very easily put of buying from a shop/business where the staff are pierced or tattooed. These things frighten people away from businesses and mean that the employer doesn't make money and if they don't make money then they go bust and there is no employment for anyone.


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    #54
    Elaine_S
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22 ✭Elaine_S


    First of all, I'm so surprised at the response from most people in regards to a small piercing like this, it's 2016. Personally, I couldn't care less if someone had 40 facial piercings and twice as many tattoos serving me. It makes no difference to the goods I'm buying or a service I may be availing of.

    Secondly OP, you are only being paid to do/follow what is in your contract. Since there are no mention of covering/removing piercings or tattoos in your contract, then you are not contractually obliged to do so.

    People mentioning professionalism might want to consider how unprofessional the senior manager was. It sounds like OP doesn't know the senior manager too well as he's not around all the time, so I'd say, joking or not, gesturing at her face with a tweezer or telling her she's defaced herself, is totally unacceptable.

    Everyone has a different idea of what the professional look is. I think in this day and age, people really need to stop being so judgemental and deeming others unprofessional looking, just because they don't personally like/want the choices someone has made concerning their own body.

    If this senior manager dislikes piercings in the workplace so strongly, then maybe he should have included in his employees contracts.

    Good luck OP, I hope you have no more hassle with this before moving on to your next job.


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    #55
    Eoin
    Registered Users Posts: 21,257 ✭✭✭✭Eoin


    Elaine_S wrote: »
    Secondly OP, you are only being paid to do/follow what is in your contract. Since there are no mention of covering/removing piercings or tattoos in your contract, then you are not contractually obliged to do so.

    It would be absolutely ridiculous for every single policy to be included in the contract. That's not how it works.


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    #56
    Elaine_S
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22 ✭Elaine_S


    Eoin wrote: »
    It would be absolutely ridiculous for every single policy to be included in the contract. That's not how it works.

    My contract is like a short novel, as was all previous contracts I've ever had. Some employers are thorough and actually include all of the details and specifics of their requirements.

    Plus, dress code is pretty important in most jobs, so it should definitely be one of the things covered in detail, if as you say, it's absolutely ridiculous for a company to include everything. If it's as important as it seems to be to this particular senior manager, he might want to update for future contracts.


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    #57
    Nody
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,316 CMod ✭✭✭✭Nody


    Elaine_S wrote: »
    Plus, dress code is pretty important in most jobs, so it should definitely be one of the things covered in detail, if as you say, it's absolutely ridiculous for a company to include everything. If it's as important as it seems to be to this particular senior manager, he might want to update for future contracts.
    Let's take dress code as an example and they say it's business casual with examples of how long a skirt should be, no flip flops, bathrobe etc. with some pictures as example. Does that mean you should show up in a neon green shirt and a mismatched yellow skirt wearing a pair of plastic klogs because they did not specify the color or specifically called out klogs? Of course not as that's part of the unwritten rules and general understanding.


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    #58
    Elaine_S
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22 ✭Elaine_S


    Nody wrote: »
    Let's take dress code as an example and they say it's business casual with examples of how long a skirt should be, no flip flops, bathrobe etc. with some pictures as example. Does that mean you should show up in a neon green shirt and a mismatched yellow skirt wearing a pair of plastic klogs because they did not specify the color or specifically called out klogs? Of course not as that's part of the unwritten rules and general understanding.

    I think it's safe to say that specifying something like 'no facial piercings' or 'no visible tattoos' in terms of dress code in a contract is much more straightforward and can't really be misunderstood or misinterpreted by an employee. It's about as straightforward as it gets.


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    #59
    CruelCoin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,468 ✭✭✭CruelCoin


    childsplay wrote: »
    What does your contract say about dress codes and physical appearance. If it doesn't stipulate that piercings are not permitted then ld say that your okay.

    Not in my contract, boss can't say nuthin....:rolleyes:

    http://www.bitrebels.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/World-Record-Most-Piercings-4.jpg

    If there is anything in you contract or employee handbook that mentions dress code, professional appearance etc, then i'd say it's up to the boss to decide what that is.

    OP, if your manager doesn't want you to work with that piercing, then don't be difficult and just take it out while at work.


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    #60
    petes
    Registered Users Posts: 8,382 ✭✭✭petes


    I have multiple ear piercings, a lip piercing and visible tattoos. If my boss decided that these weren't the image the company wants to portray I'd have no problem taking out the piercings and covering the tattoos. My job is not a customer facing role but we do have clients that visit the office a lot. If I had to chose I'd chose my job.

    Saying that the OP is leaving soon so I wouldn't worry about it. I would however have issue with the trying to remove it with a tweezers etc. be it in jest or not.


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