UK: African-British job seeker at The Ritz told ‘Afro’ hairstyle is not allowed

An African-Britishapplicant for a job at The Ritz has said that the apology he received from the luxury hotel after being told that "Afro" hairstyle was not in accordance with the hotel's grooming policy, wasinsincere.

Jerelle Jules (30) from Hammersmith in west London had applied forthe job of dining reservation supervisor at The Ritz. He cleared the initial rounds and reached the final one. As reported by The Guardian, it was then that he was sent the company's grooming policy.

The policy was reportedly made in 2021 and said that “unusual hairstyles” such as “spiky hair, Afro style” were not allowed.

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An Afro hairstyle is often associated with people of colour who have African heritage.

Jules said that he declined to appear for the final interview as it was the first time he was officially told that an Afro hairstyle was not acceptable.

“I want to make sure that things like this don’t happen again,” he said, as quoted by The Guardian “It’s about inclusivity and black professionalism.”

“The word Afroitself is obviously indicative of Africans and after reading that I don’t feel comfortable going to the interview," he told Metro.

The Ritz apologised to Jules. Guardian said that in a statement, Ritz claimed that Jules was sent an out-of-date policy and had offered “unreserved apology for this error”

However, Jules felt that the apology was “disingenuous and lacklustre”.

“The policy was updated in June 2021, so this is not something that was written 10 or 20 years ago. It’s a recent policy that shows a lack of awareness about being inclusive to people of colour,” he told The Guardian.

“The Ritz London does not condone discrimination of any form and we are genuinely committed to fostering an inclusive and non-discriminatory environment for all of our colleagues and guests,” said spokesperson of the Ritz as quoted in various media reports.

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