A job ad recruiting for only "extremely attractive" waiting staff at an east London bar has been labelled discriminatory after it circulated on social media.
The advert, put up this month on the Reed.co.uk employment site by a third party called House of Wax London, states that attractiveness is a key requirement to be considered for the £10-per-hour job.
Nicola Thorp, who is an anti-discrimination campaigner, tweeted a screenshot of the advert. She told BuzzFeed News she shared it to raise awareness after someone sent it to her.
"This post would look out of place even on a dating site, never mind an employment website," she told BuzzFeed News. "I can't believe that House of Wax had the audacity to post such an advert, but I'm even more disappointed that Reed allowed it to go live. How do they think prospective employees will feel about a job hunt after reading something like that?"
She said the ad, which also says female waiting staff should wear black heels, was "discriminatory".
Thorp previously campaigned for the requirement for women to wear heels to be banned after she arrived for a receptionist job at PricewaterhouseCoopers in London wearing flat shoes, but was told she needed to be wearing "two- to four-inch heels".
When she refused to go out and buy a pair, Thorp told BuzzFeed News, she was sent home without pay and "laughed at" when she questioned if the same would be expected of a man.
Hey @reedcouk, just checking you're aware that this job ad is in breach of an Equality Act or two... #lovemondays?… https://t.co/0vDfVuEoyH
Under anti-discrimination guidelines, a recruiter cannot specify "attractive" as a prerequisite, the government's Employer Services helpline confirmed to BuzzFeed News.
Reed.co.uk told BuzzFeed News that the ad, which was genuine, had been removed while Reed "works with [the recruiter] to ensure they are made fully aware of relevant legislation affecting their recruitment".
"We take our responsibilities extremely seriously," the spokesperson added.
"Clearly, in this instance, an advertiser has used inappropriate language in their posting and so details of the vacancy have been removed."
BuzzFeed News attempted to contact House of Wax London but was informed that the company did not wish to comment.