Temp Agency Called Out For Refusing Applicant With Dreadlocks

A college student in England has alleged discrimination against a temp agency that refused to hire her because of her hairstyle.

Cheyanne Arnold, a Birmingham City University undergraduate with a dreadlock hairstyle, claimed she was denied an opportunity to get a job through TempTribe. The 22-year-old said the London-based event staff supplier told her that her hair wasn’t in line with the company’s uniform standards.

"It’s discrimination. My hair is part of me," she told the Huffington Post UK.

After Arnold applied to TempTribe for work, she called the company concerned about a guideline she found on its website called the "ultimate guide" which shows how an employee should look. It appeared to include a ban against male dreadlocks, braids and ponytails. The guide requires that men be "clean shaven," have "hair...short and neat," and stated that hair color must be "natural."

Having worked as a waitress with another temp agency, Arnold questioned why her dreadlocks were a violation of the company’s uniform policy.

"Why would my hair not go with uniform standards? If I can put it in a bun, and it looks fine – what’s the problem? It’s crazy, it’s just crazy," she told the publication. "At the time, I was really upset. I had never gone through that before. I was just thinking: ‘How would someone else feel if say they had a headscarf, how would they feel if you told them no?’"

Arnold, dissatisfied by what she saw on the company’s website, sought answers and emailed the company about its guidelines. A statement sent to Arnold on June 19 said that TempTribe has "always accepted braids" and that "dreadlocks have been an area of difficulty as many of our clients in hotels have not allowed them." Since receiving the email, Arnold said she refuses to work for the company after learning about its practices.

"The money is not worth what they said to me," she said. "I would rather be broke for a couple of months than work for a company that discriminates against certain hair or the way you look."

Huffington Post UK reports TempTribe has since updated their employee presentation guideline to state the company "can make an exception on religious grounds."

This case is the latest incident involving women accusing an employer of discrimination in England. In May 2016, BBC News released a report highlighting black women who claimed to have been asked not to show up to work wearing natural hair by their employers.