Canadians with tattoos are weighing in on getting employed after one woman on TikTok says she didn’t get a job because of her ink.
When an American woman with tattoos all over her face decided to interview at TJ Maxx, she found herself being rejected for “not having enough experience.”
In her viral TikTok video, Ashley O’Brien said TJ Maxx denied not hiring because of her tattoos, but she wasn’t having it.
Although she lives south of the border, Canadians with tattoos have definitely faced the same stigma. Now Toronto wanted to investigate how Canadian employers treat job applicants and employees with tattoos and piercings.
“Under both legislation in Ontario and Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, there’s no specific guideline that protects with regards to tattoos or body modifications unless it relates to creed,” Peninsula HR advice manager Kiljon Shukullari told Now Toronto on Friday.
So long as the tattoos or piercings are not part of an ethnic, religious or tribal custom, the Human Rights Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms do not apply to employers’ hiring choices with regards to body modifications.
This rule of legislation is also outlined on the GTA-based KCY at Law employment law firm’s website, where discrimination only applies if tattoos and piercings are for ethnic, religious, or tribal reasons.
O’Brien explains it’s a difficult job market for young people and teenagers who haven’t gotten a job before.
“Just because I have tattoos doesn’t mean I’m not going to be a good worker,” O’Brien said in her video.
However, some Canadians on social media are expressing they actually haven’t had difficulties finding employment with tattoos.
“It’s not considered taboo. Times have changed. Don’t worry about what others think. They are not looking at your tattoo. Honestly, if you do well in your job, that’s all that matters,” one person said on Reddit.
“It’s chill. I also work for the govt, tattoos galore. It’s so funny because I feel so many of us grew up with our parents convincing us we’d never get a job if we got a tattoo,” another person said.
And others say they do.
“In my experiences the only places that ask for employees tattoos to be covered are places that serve large amount of tourists. or unless your tattoo is inappropriate,” another Reddit user commented.
“I wouldn’t get it anywhere visible with regular work clothes. Chances are nobody will judge you for it, but it might be limiting in the future if you go somewhere you didn’t plan,” another person said.
Meanwhile, Shukullari explains Canadian legislation is very unclear and situations are dependent on employers and different job industries.
Shukullari said employers can say they don’t want someone with tattoos depending on the context and environment. He says he finds jobs that are customer-facing and have plenty of interactions with people, such as working at a bank or being a lawyer, are the most strict.
“Tattoos can also be part of a certain dress code and appearance the business wants to portray to appeal to a certain audience, like working in a fine dining restaurant or selling certain products,” Shukullari said.
Regardless of the reason, an employer must have a justified line of reasoning to put together a case on why they don’t feel comfortable hiring someone with tattoos.
“If employees are mainly working from home or work in IT, you can’t really make a case,” Shukullari said.
However, Shukullari said he sees many cases on a daily basis where employers deny hiring someone for many reasons other than personal appearance, yet applicants often believe that’s why they weren’t hired.
The HR advice manager provides his insights to Canadians with tattoos that are looking for employment:
- Ask an interviewer directly about the culture and tattoo policy
- Look at a company’s latest posts on social media, their values, their pictures, see if diversity expressed is in their media releases or postings
- Employees can raise a concern but it’s a matter of proving they’ve been wronged because of their tattoos
