Anxious employers incorporate the bans they deem fit in their in-house regulations. But their requirements must not be in conflict with the law and the employees should be made aware of the approved rules in advance. In case of failure to comply with at least one of these requirements, the employer will be unable to sanction the employees. And yet, corporate managers continuously demonstrate remarkable resourcefulness and invent a multitude of new bans.
This paper depicts 6 groups of bans that may result in the resignation of valuable professionals. If your company has similar restrictions, consider whether the candidate will get along with them during the recruitment process. Remember that you will be hardly able to persuade the employer to cancel the ban. Do not waste your effort and nerve on this — you’d better think about changing jobs.
Top-10 Controversial Bans and Restrictions
We should part ways if you are a corpulent owner of pink curls
Certain employers regulate their employees’ height, weight, color and even length of their hair. For instance, they may refuse to hire girls with a creative hair dye or excessively short haircuts. Obviously, this is not provided for by the laws. Natalya STOROZHEVA, Chief Executive Officer, Perspektiva Business and Career Development Center, shared her experience: “The Chief Commercial Officer at one of our partner companies disliked the people that he believed were overweight. The manager was certain that big-boned employees were slow and unable to work fast. This is the reason why he was refusing to hire people with extra pounds. If he ever noticed that his subordinate suddenly put on weight, he would always tell him / her to lose weight by a certain deadline and dismiss the employee in case of failure to do so”.
Do not dare to call your near and dear ones while at work — we are jealous
Zulfia YUPASHEVSKAYA, Head of HR Services, BDO Unicon Outsourcing, told us about the personal experiences shared by candidates at job interviews. For instance, one of the professionals was employed by a company that prohibited to discuss unrelated matters with colleagues and take personal phone calls. The management installed video surveillance cameras and sound recorders in the office. The employee would have to pay a fine for each unauthorized phrase. It is not always obvious who the employee calls and talks to. Checking traffic and processing print-outs is time-consuming and expensive, and therefore, resourceful employers ban all talk and social media altogether. However, the number of positions involving use of social media as an employment tool is rising every day. For instance: editor, reporter, recruiter, online marketing specialist, PR manager.
Take off your green dress immediately — this is our competitor’s corporate color
A school teacher in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky had to prove to the court that her knee-length high-necked dress was in conformity with all requirements set out in the internal code of conduct. Another educator from Barnaul whose hobby is winter swimming had even more serious problems. She posted a photo made before her swim on her personal page in the social media. The school administration and certain anxious parents did not appreciate the picture. The woman had to resign despite the potential to become a role model in terms of leading a healthy lifestyle and staying perfectly fit for her pupils. Restrictions of this sort are arbitrary and extravagant. Along with a certain company’s attempt to ban green and lilac clothes, underwear of certain styles, footwear from last-year collections, and any nail lacquer unless it is colorless.
Should you marry your colleague — resign
Svetlana BELODED, Head of HR Management, QBF, shared her experience: “In a certain company, I encountered a situation when spouses and close relatives were not allowed to work either for the same company or for competing entities. The management viewed it as an apparent conflict of interest and threat of business secret disclosure or fraud in collusion. In other words, managers fear the corruption component of a family contract. Among other things, spouses discuss their everyday work in the family. It may be hard to fully protect business secret in this situation. If the young met and married each other during their employment in the company, one of them had to resign.
We don’t smoke here — at all
Employees are oftentimes concerned about the employers’ excessive anti-smoking requirements. But isn’t this ban reasonable when a person works at a gas station or school? This sort of precedents were recorded in the Irkutsk Region and Krasnoyarsk Territory. In the first case, an employee took the liberty of smoking in the gas station control room, and in the second — the person smoked in the toilet also used by schoolchildren.
Have tea at home and do not make noise with candy wrappers.
Many teams have an established tradition — having tea or coffee at work. Almost every division has its own kettle that the employees consider indispensable for everyday work. At times, however, employers would deprive people of their traditional comforts. They think it unacceptable to turn the office space into a non-stop tea-drinking and eating area. It would be good if the company designates and equips the areas where employees could have a break and snack as an alternative. But there are situations, when people have to think hard where to go.
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