MALE FACIAL HAIR BAN? YOU'VE GOATEE BE JOKING

Sunday Mirror, Jan 11, 2004 by ANDREW BUSHE

A SHOP has been ordered to reinstate a worker fired because of a goatee beard he had worn for decades.

Dunnes Stores dis-missed William O'Byrne after he refused to either shave off his beard or wear a mask to hide it.

Labour Court Deputy Chairman Kevin Duffy found that there was no dispute over the facts of the case, but ruled that, in the case of Mr O'Byrne, Dunnes' dress code "restricted his freedom to determine his own appearance to a sign-ificantly greater degree than it does in the case of women".

Mr Duffy said: "This constituted unfavourable treatment on grounds of gender.

"The complainant was dismissed solely because he refused to comply with this code. It follows that the dismissal was discriminatory and unlawful."

Mr Duffy described Mr O'Byrne's beard as "neat and closely trimmed" and said it could not reasonably be regarded as offending against the standard of convention-ality which Dunnes sought to impose.

He said: "Moreover, the requirement that the complainant wear a facemask at work went far beyond what is conventional, and the Court fully accepts that he was presented as a figure of fun and ridicule whilst wearing it."

In what is believed to be the first case of its kind under the 1998 Employment Equality Act, Mr O'Byrne told a Labour Court hearing in Cork that when he was hired in November 2001 he had the beard that he had worn for more than 38 years.

At an induction meeting after he was hired, Dunnes' dress code was explained to him and a section in the firm's rulebook said: "Men should always be clean shaven.

Mr Duffy added: "It is, however, accepted that moustaches can be worn."

At the meeting, Mr O'Byrne was told that it was acceptable to wear a beard provided that it was kept neat and tidy.

However, six weeks later the personnel manager told him facial hair - apart from moustaches - was unacceptable.

Mr Duffy said: "He was told that he should remove his beard or face dismissal."

Mr O'Byrne contacted his solicitor who wrote to Dunnes saying they were in contravention of the 1998 Act but no reply was received.

In early 2002 the instruction to shave off the goatee was renewed.

After a number of meetings with the management, it was then proposed that Mr O'Byrne should wear a form of facemask, known as a snood, at all times while at work.

Mr O'Byrne wore the mask for about a week but then refused to wear it any more.

He claimed there had been derogatory remarks from the public and he felt he had become "a figure of fun".

Following further meetings with the management, he was dismissed in April 2002.

In his ruling, Mr Duffy said a clear distinction must also be drawn between rules which relate to appearance and those imposed by the requirements of hygiene and safety.

He said Dunnes did not argue that the requirement for the complainant to wear a facemask or remove his beard was motivated by considerations of hygiene or food safety.

Mr Duffy said: "Dress codes by their nature apply different rules to men and women and it would be absurd to suggest that they should do otherwise.

"Anti-discrimination law does not require that men and women be treated the same in every circumstance.

"What it requires is that they be treated equally."