Apparently KT is enraged lol

Actually, i said outraged

Men are useless

Id be abit screwed if i couldnt have my tattoos on show at work, id have to cut my arms off.

Did you read the comments? What a bunch of earmuffs.

People have offensive eyebrows and arent made to cover them up so why should people cover up tattoos? They arent going to jump out and bite people.

over the years, ive noticed something - people who differ from the norm because of their embracing of counter-cultureare often assumed to be something they are not - loud, arrogant, aggresive, violent - and yet, time and time again, ive found that its the bloke with a chestful of tattoos and several dozen pieces of metal stuck through avrious parts of his face that i would trust my life to.
wealk through any major town on a saturday night, and i can guarantee that 95% of the fights that start involve people conforming to the smart/smart casual dress code - most of the time that the those who most people would cross the road to avoid because of the way they look are involved in fights is because a bunch of chavs have ganged up on them.
hell, ive even had people cross the road to avoid ME - and everyone knows im just a big teddybear **shudder**.
ok, im not saying that there arent people who conform to the stereotypes - but there are good and bad people in all walks of life - surely, in this day and age, its time we stopped judging people by what they look like, and instead look at what they are like as people, and how well they do the job.
and as an aside - i know a few women who are tattoed as a cultural thing - anyone attempting to tell THEM to cover up could be accused of racism - so how does this differ??
if you cant tell someone to not do something that is part of their cultural heritage, then banning someone else from doing it on the grounds that they dont share that culture - thats racial discrimination...

Surely just "discrimination"?

But I agree, it's out of order. If she wants to take on their cobblers stance, she could always cite ultra-establishment figures. Like King George V: he was covered in the things thanks to a couple of drunk nights in Chinese ports. (Lucky for him it wasn't a couple of drunk nights in Portsmouth really.)

Just to add, those are some amazing tats!

Because I'm more or less military (don't ask, even I don't get it), we're not allowed to have visible tatoos when we are in uniform. However, this only applies if you get them after you join, and only applies to the officers. We're also not allowed visible peircings, except ears, and then they are meant to be a plain stud.

They tend not to be too rigourous in the enforcement of this, but then I've not noticed anyone really pushing the limits. I don't really have much of an opinion on it to be honest, but I have to say the amount of tats she has makes me feel a little queezy, which I will be the first to admit is odd. I guess it's the whole needles thing. That said, I have loads of friends with tatoo's (including one mate who has the klingon symbol arround his nipple )and I don't care on the least about it. Although I have to say, whats the point in having a tatoo, if noone can see it?

You dont have tattoos for other people to see, you have tattoos for yourself, because you want them.

Oh come on, tattoos and piercing are all fine in the work place but within reason. Many companies have a dress code in place and for good reason. They expect their employees to "embody" what the organization stands for and a part of that is done by enforcing appropriate dress and grumming.

Although her direct contact with the customers might only be by phone some of her collegues may not. Although she might be the nicest and most professional person in the world the "stereotype" of a person that decorates their body in such a fashion is not. Due to the stereotypes it also isn't beneficial for the internal communications within an organization, for example, between departments that normally don't interact with her. Many organizations will also not allow an open display of religion etc.

There are also many jobs that aren't well suited to having lots of piercings either and requires them to be taped off or removed. This to ensure the safety or the person itself, the people around them or the product. In certain work enviroments even wedding rings aren't acceptable.

In this case there is of course very little ground for a "safety" argument. But come on, this is a bit over the top. Nobody will complain about a tribal at the bottom of your spine, a butterfly on your ankle, a belly button piercing or something like that. But in extreme cases you kinda passed the point where it is acceptable for a professional work enviroment. It might be legal for you to do it to yourself and you can show it off as much as you want on your own time but while you're at work its a different matter. And how bad can it be having to wear a slightly more covering outfit in an airconditioned office?

It might not be fair, but stereotypes / looks / first impressions etc is what you are judged upon so act accordingly.

Now then, with me being (one of) the most tattooed people on the site, this struck a chord with me.

I've found over time that it depends totally on the employer and how much of a knob they want to be. Maybe I've been lucky? In my first job, I had 2 tattoos, but they were both out of the public view. That changed when I got a set of flames going halfway up my forearm and some japanese kanji on my inner forearm. They were still fine with it, and then so were my new emplyers who I am currently with at the moment.

Granted when I moved departments, there was a little bit of outcry from the Sales Director, but people fought for me (without me knowing) and it was let go.

Now in the question of this girl, it brings a couple of questions to mind. Surely the powers that be who interviewed her were able to tell that she had some body art already done? If it was going to be a problem, then it should've been mentioned there and then. Although with the fact that she is not customer facing, it shouldn't matter a damn. Hell, even I'm customer facing, and I get away with it. If I can walk into a crown court on a job and not have anyone cause a fuss, then the girls employer certainly shouldn't.

On this ocassion though, I think she's just got some bad luck to be with a snotty emplyer more than anything else.

I know loads of people that are tattooed, or have visible piercings. Why should this affect the way they work?

Even, me - I now have a pretty tattoo on my arm and my last couple of jobs said that it shouldn't be on show. One "boss" even had the audacity to say they were a fashion statement (don't even get me started on that one, I actually had a very long debate with him on it in the office and it was only my 2nd day!)

The people I temp with now are fantastic - they love the tattoo - most of the people in the office have them and they have no problem whether or not it's on show. Ok, we don't deal with the public face to face but when they have a meeting or something, then they are covered up.

I personally don't feel a person should be judged on how they look (we're all individuals at the end of the day). It's their capabilities to do the job that counts!

When society places the appearance of someone over their well-being, things are definitely backassward. To then supply a fan, and take it away for 'health and safety' reasons is not only rediculous but smacks of intimidation. As said if her appearance was an issue it should have been dealt with at interview ('we'd like to offer you a position, but it means you must cover as much of your body as posible, whatever the weather, to the point of collapse' - anyone?).

Personally, I think she needs to get herself a good union rep and not take and excriment.