On Air Now
Heart Breakfast with JK and Amanda Holden 6:30am - 10am
Hairdresser's job advert for 'happy' stylist banned for 'discriminating' against unhappy people
8 September 2020, 10:52
Outrage As 'Happy' Employee Advertisement Is Banned For Discrimination
The woman was told her hair stylist advert could not be shared as 'happy' was a discriminatory word.
A hairdresser from Stoud, a town in England, was left shocked when she was told her advert for a hair stylist could not be posted at a job centre because she was 'discriminating' against unhappy people.
Alison, who owns AJ's Hair Salon, appeared on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday where she spoke to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid about her experience.
On the ITV morning show, Alison explained how she had put up an advert looking for a part time stylist for the salon, specifying they were looking for a "happy, friendly" stylist.
However, she was left taken aback when someone from the Department of Work and Pensions told her she couldn't run the advert.
She explained: "I was very shocked when the gentleman from the job centre phoned me up and said 'unfortunately we can't run your advert because you put a discriminatory word in there', and as it turned out the word was 'happy'."
She continued: "I did think it was one of my clients winding me up, and they were just going to tell me it was a joke at the end."
The woman continued to explain how she was told by the gentleman that unless she removed the word 'happy' from the advert, he would not be able to post it.
Piers Morgan was left shocked at the story, saying: "This is the stuff of madness, Alison!"
Since the story went viral, the Department for Work and Pensions have apologised for the 'error'.
A spokesperson said: "We mistakenly advised a customer to amend a job advert but have since offered to repost the original copy and apologised for the error."
