A study of tattoo discrimination by CIPD course providers DPG Plc has revealed that 64% thought that tattoos were undesirable features in candidates, with the majority (64%) finding tattoos an “undesirable feature”

The study found that 54% of hiring decision makers think that tattoos can have a negative impact on the workplace. The findings highlight the potentially widespread stereotypical judgements facing tattooed candidates – denying them a fair judgement based on their ability to do the job, which is tattoo discrimination.

The survey also revealed that, next only to scruffiness, tattoos were the feature deemed most likely to limit career potential.

To compound the potential impact such discrimination may have on the UK workforce – not to mention fresh new talent – there is currently no legislation protecting tattooed workers.

This means that not only do unsuccessful candidates have no recourse should they suspect prejudice, currently employed workers may be dismissed ‘fairly’ for breaking a dress code if they refuse to cover up a tattoo when requested by management.

Other findings from the study include:

• 43% of hiring decision-makers see visible tattoos as being valuable markers for determining a candidate’s character.
• Nearly a third (30%) thought visible tattoos were telling clues in determining a candidate’s predicted performance.
• Male hirers were more discriminatory in all areas of the survey.
• Those over 55 years old were the most likely to see tattoos as undesirable features. They were also most likely to think that tattoos can have a negative impact on the workplace – followed perhaps surprisingly by the youngest age band – the 18-24s.
• 13% of hiring decision-makers would actively choose the tattooed candidate when faced with two equal contenders, and a third (33%) stated that it wouldn’t make a difference.
• DPG surveyed the DPG Community to discover most shocking things they’ve heard said to tattooed employees/candidates, and visualised them as actual tattoos – for example:

Paul Drew, Managing Director at DPG Plc, said “Dress codes can be an important part of how a business is perceived, but features such as tattoos can be problematic. With such a large amount of the population having tattoos, discrimination represents a very real problem that threatens to limit talented workers from entering the workforce. It’s sad to see such a superficial feature being used as a valuable way of assessing a candidate’s attitude and performance.

“It appears that tattoos are only growing in popularity, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a large tattoo discrimination case soon – potentially leading to increased protection for tattooed workers, similar to the recent developments in obesity legislation.”

With thanks to DPG
Main image used under CC courtesy of Clara , licenced under CC