Legalities of being asked to supply a photo when applying for a job

Yes, it is legal to ask for a photo. What they do with the information of the photo might not be legal.

I think it's so they know the person who comes for interview is the same person that applied.

Or else, if they use an ID badge for emplyment, they'll use that photo on the badge if you're successful

Hardly. Public jobs does it, or at least did pre-covid: They matched it with the photo I'd when you arrived, and then used it to ensure the person was the same one thru the process.

PAS generally ask you to bring a passport photo to interview, along with photo I’d, which is a control mechanism that you are the same person on paper as in person. They sometimes ask for a photo for high security posts, like Gardai or doctors.

That’s a bit different to asking for a photo with an initial application, which creates a situation where people are chosen based on their looks, rather then their ability to do the job.

There is absurd nothing wrong with being chosen based on looks, so long as its not a proxy for race or disability.

If you're recruiting dozens or hundreds, like the Gardai, you need to check ID. They have aptitude tests and fitness tests with hundreds of applicants.

And what if somebody other than the applicant turned up for interview or an assessment test? When you are dealing with large numbers of applicants it is important to know who you are dealing with from the start.

It wouldn't constitute discrimination under Equal Status legislation, that's true. The question is whether the Data P'rotection Commission would agree that it is 'necessary'. I can think of circumstances where it may be necessary, if you're going to be a body beautiful posing in Hollister or similar shop. But for a standard office job, it's hard to see how provision of a photo, which is, by definition, biometric data, is necessary.

It's a good idea to draw a line under current data protection rights. Many smaller employers don't pay huge attention to these, so it can help for consumers to point these out. This sounds like one such occasion.

The only assumption by me is that appearance isn't generally relevant for an office job. Am I wrong?

The DPC aren't going to make a determination on whether looks should or should not matter for an office job. That's not under their remit. Once the employer can show sufficient systems in regard to the retention and, most importantly, the destruction of the data(photos) they won't do anything.

So, to sum up, it depends.

The DPC absolutely WILL make a determination on whether a data controller is compliant with GDPR if a complaint is made. This will indeed include a judgement on whether looking for a photo is necessary. In this scenario, for an office job, it is very unlikely that any employer is going to try to make a case that looks are relevant for an office job, so the employer will be on the back foot from the start.

There is a question of whether this will be a priority issue for the DPC, given that most of their resources are focussed on dealing with Twitter and Meta and Google and more. I reported a smallish issue about a local retailer to them last year, and they followed up about six months later.