A Huddersfield bar has ignited a heated online debate surrounding gender discrimination due to a job advertisement specifically targeting “female bar staff.”
Maverick’s, an ‘80s lounge in Huddersfield town centre, published a job advert on its Facebook page on Monday.
The advert read “We are hiring female bar staff. No experience necessary. Team spirit. Bubbly Personality. We look forward to meeting you soon.”
The Facebook post led many local individuals to question the advertisement. One man commented “You might need to check yourself. It’s illegal to specify a gender.”
The legality of the job advert has come under question with it potentially going against the Equality Act 2010.
In response to an individual asking “Can I just ask why you’re specifically asking for females. Why would it matter?”, the bar responded, “We are trying to balance the team as we have loads of boys already working, that’s all.”
Adam Pavey, an Employment Partner in Beyond Law Group’s Specialist corporate and commercial practice, Beyond Corporate, said that the Equality Act 2010 in the simplest terms is “a legislation in place to try to avoid people with protected characteristics being treated less favourably than others.”
Paul Burton, Partner at employment law Frettens Solicitors said: “Employers, in certain cases, can make use of exceptions provided by the Equality Act that allow them to engage in conduct that would otherwise be considered unlawful, if there is a ‘genuine occupational requirement’ for employees to belong to a specific sex.
“A ‘Genuine Occupational Qualification’ (GOQ) is a legal provision in the UK that permits discrimination based on a characteristic such as sex or age when it is an essential requirement for a particular job.
“While there is no definitive list, some examples include situations where considerations of privacy or decency necessitate that a public changing room attendant be of the same sex as the facility users. Similarly, a female worker in a domestic violence unit may be justified on the grounds that women seeking refuge require an environment free from men.
He added that in the instance of Maverick’s job advertisement “It is challenging to envision how a bar could establish an occupational requirement that justifies sex discrimination. In the absence of a GOQ for the role, the advertisement is likely to be regarded as constituting sex discrimination.”
Adam Pavey said that if a male was to apply to the job and be turned away due to his gender, he “could bring a claim to say that he had been treated less favourably.” He added that it would be “very complicated but they would have a case.”
Maverick’s have been approached for a comment.